 |
 | |
|
Australian Introduction |
Wallaby Hunting In New Zealand: Awesome Fun! Introduced from Australia in 1875, the red necked wallaby quickly adapted, and just as quickly would become a major pest. The original hope, that the skins would become valuable never eventuated. Protection was removed in 1900, and a ' shoot on sight' label, was attached to the species. Half the size of a kangaroo, the wallaby stands about one metre tall, and weighs about 15 kilograms. |
|
|
Nocturnal Hunts |
A grey, brown or ginger colour, he is hard to spot when bedded down. Being largely nocturnal, the foot hunter either has to flush them using dogs, or hunt at change of light times. Night shooting, is by far the most successful method. I recently hunted with Best of NZ Hunting guide Brendon Matthews. In our session we shot 13 wallaby, several hares and quite a number of opossums. We had seen over 70 wallaby, but their speed, agility, and ability to glide away saw most escape. A full moon, and cold wind, had not helped our cause. The point to remember is that wallaby are pests, and shooting is the best method to keep their numbers down. |
|
| A Good Safari |
Rob, an Englishman out in New Zealand on holiday was keen to cut a swath through the local wallaby, hare, opossum, and rabbit population. He went spotlighting. A night shoot involves 3 to four hours of shooting over the back part of the property. A spotlighter joins two hunters on the back of a well equipped 4WD, and using shotguns and rifles they deal to all pests that cross their path. The weapons are complementary and come as part of the package. The shotgunner’s job is to clean up the running and close quarry while the rifleman takes those longer shots. |
|
| Rifle or Bow |
On our trip the weather was against us, as a strong wind had got up and this kept many wallaby in cover. We managed nine, but on a good night as many as 25 wallaby may be shot. Rob proved himself a dab hand with the rifle and pulled off some great long-range shots. As well as the wallaby we removed a smattering of hares, rabbits and opossums, and is was a win-win trip for everyone except the pests. Contact: fairchase@paradise.net.nz |
 |
index
/
game bird hunting
/ big game hunting
/
package encounters /
fishing
/ australia
/
outfitter profile / contact
us
gold
medal adventure /
wallaby hunting article /
tahr hunting
article /
turkey
hunting article /
game bird hunting /
hunting scene