THE DEER THAT LIVE SOUTH OF EVERYWHERE
As detailed in Part 1 of this story, the two wild whitetail populations in New Zealand descended from a captive herd sent there from the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, reportedly as a gift from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. New Zealand has no native game animals, and bringing in whitetails was but one in a long series of stockings of various species in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the government's Tourism Department.
There were 22 whitetails on board the ship that left St. Louis in late 1904. When it reached Invercargill, New Zealand, in March 1905, 18 of the deer -- four bucks and 14 does -- had survived the epic 12,000-mile voyage. They then were divided equally, with two bucks and seven does being sent to each of the locations selected for stocking. One group ended up near the inland village of Glenorchy, in the South Island's Southern Alps. The others were released near Port Pegasus, a rugged area on 425,000-acre Stewart Island.
How James and I came to be in that corner of the world 100 years after the deer arrived is a bit of a story in itself. My wife, Catherine, and I visited New Zealand in 2001, and while we were there I presented whitetail seminars to two branches of the respected New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA). One of the folks I met was whitetail enthusiast John deLury.
When I learned from John that New Zealand's whitetail history had begun in 1905, I began thinking of what it would be like to return 100 years after the introduction, to check out the descendants of those first deer. Knowing James had always wanted to visit New Zealand, Catherine and I asked "Dr. Deer" and his wife, Susie, to join us there in March 2005.
Unfortunately, John's work schedule precluded his showing us around. However, he was able to set us up with Dave McCarlie, one of the owners of South Coast Productions. An avid hunter, naturalist and experienced cameraman, Dave volunteered to accompany us to both areas where New Zealand's whitetails live.
Nine whitetails from Missouri were released on Stewart Island in 1905. Today's herd grew from that single stocking. Map by Terry Jacobs.
After going to Glenorchy and speaking with locals about the herd in that area (Part 1), we drove 100 miles south to Invercargill. The world's most southerly city, it's the departure point to Stewart Island, which lies 15 miles across Foveaux Strait. South of Stewart Island, the next landmass of any size is Antarctica. You've heard of hunting whitetails "down south," but this is taking it to extremes!
The island's resident human population is under 500, and the lone town is Halfmoon Bay, on the eastern side. Every Stewart Islander lives in or near that settlement; in fact, the entire island has just 12 miles of roads. The only folks who ever see much of the west side of the island, where we'd be, are "trampers" (hikers), a few fishermen and other boaters, and hunters bent on getting away from it all.
That you certainly can do. Most of New Zealand is remote by North American standards, and this island is remote even for New Zealand. The best options for accessing the hunting areas are by water taxi or aircraft. We chose the latter; flying is faster and less expensive than going by boat, and it eliminates the pounding on passengers and gear. On March 21 Dave, James and I headed south on a small plane operated by Stewart Island Flights.
Two environmental factors dictate the flight schedule to Mason Bay. One is weather; the other is tides. These come into play because the only place for a plane to set down on the west side of Stewart Island is the beach.
North American Whitetall North American Whitetail is designed for the serious trophy hunter. It provides authoritative coverage of world-class whitetails, the latest approaches to deer management and advanced hunting techniques.
