Hunting in Southland

Southland is New Zealand's deep south: rolling farmland, big bush blocks, and quiet valley country running up to the edge of Fiordland. Red stag is the mainstay, with strong numbers through the eastern Fiordland catchments and ranges like the Takitimu country, and fallow deer also on offer. The autumn roar in late March and April is the classic window for a southern stag. Much of the region's hunting is on public conservation land, some of it reached by boat or water taxi, so a guided operator's local access knowledge counts for a lot down here.