Helicopters are widely used to get hunters into the rugged mountains above Glenorchy, where New Zealand's alpine whitetails live. Photo by Gordon Whittington.
A VOICE FROM THE PAST
"There was recently imported from America, and brought to New Zealand through the agency of the Tourist Department, a considerable shipment of sporting game," noted a story in the March 29, 1905, edition of the Southland Times, Invercargill's newspaper. "The intention of the Department was to distribute the game over the colony, choosing suitable places for the reception of the newcomers.
"The Southland Acclimatisation Society has received its proportion, and during the last few days its officers have been very busy forwarding deer and fowl to their final destinations. The consignment, which consisted of eighteen Virginian (white-tailed) deer, eleven Canadian wild geese [Canada geese], and six American black ducks, was brought to Invercargill on Friday last by Mr. Biggar, the Society's Ranger, assisted by Mr. Bell, who came over from America with the game imported.
"The deer, Mr. Bell says, are really fine representatives of their kind," the story continued, "and although they have traveled thousands of miles by sea and land during the past few months, they are in first-rate condition. On Saturday (March 26) nine of the Virginian deer were sent to Pegasus Sound, Stewart Island, and the remaining nine were forwarded to Rees Valley, Lake Wakatipu. These localities should be in every way suitable for the maintenance of the deer, and as they are prolific breeders a few years should decide whether acclimatisation has been successfully accomplished. The Virginian deer are considerably smaller than the red deer, and the stags have no horns. Their flesh is esteemed rather a dainty, and they provide good sport."
This account, only recently dug out of the newspaper's archives by dedicated New Zealand deer hunter John deLury, sheds some helpful light on the 1905 whitetail introduction. It tells us a lot about the deer, how and why they were transported to the South Pacific and when and where they were released into the wild.
But reading about how North America's favorite game animal found a home on the other side of the planet is one thing; seeing it with your own eyes is another. And so, more than a year ago, close friend Dr. James Kroll and I began planning a trip that would put us in New Zealand in March 2005: 100 years to the month after the deer themselves reached those rocky shores.
FAR FROM HOME
You don't just wake up one day and find yourself in New Zealand whitetail country. Getting there involves flying from wherever you live in North America to Los Angeles and then sitting for another 12-plus hours on a jet carrying you to Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. From there, you have a choice to make: head a few hundred miles southwest, to the river valleys that feed huge Lake Wakatipu, or go 100 miles even farther down the South Island to Invercargill, the most southerly city in the world and the jumping-off point for the flight or water taxi ride to nearby Stewart Island.
Figuring this would likely be our only chance to investigate the whitetails in either place, James and I elected to go to both. We'd first drive (on the left side of the road, which is interesting in itself) to Lake Wakatipu, have a look at its whitetail habitat, chat with the locals and then drive south for a few days of hunting and observation on Stewart Island.
Fortunately, the plan called for us to be shown around by Dave McCarlie. A lifelong Kiwi, he's one of the partners in South Coast Productions, which specializes in documenting New Zealand's fascinating natural history. Among the company's many unique videos is a highly informative one on Stewart Island whitetail hunting.
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