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CVO Social => Off Topic => Topic started by: RJ749 on June 02, 2007, 02:43:20 AM
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Well it was a great trip and I would love to do New Zealand on two wheels some time.
This trip was however for a hunting adventure of a lifetime and it turned out well as you may have seen with a couple of pics I posted while down there.
It all started with a transfer from Seattle to LA and then off on New Zealand Air to Auckland. I left LAX at sunset.
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After a 13 and a half hour flight I landed in Auckland early in the morning.
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We headed off for the 3 hour drive to the lodge and the first stop we made for gas in Bombay I saw this across the street.
Made you feel like home.
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The lush countryside of the lower portion of the north island was amazing.
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We came to the cliffs of Horohoro, the lodge would be just beyond them in the hills.
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Treetops Lodge was the destination for the first four days of the trip, near Rotorua on the North Island.
www.treetops.co.nz
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On the property are lush forests of native growth as well as planted areas of pine.
The pine forests are not indigenous, in fact the only indigenous animal to New Zealand is a bat. All other species of mammals are introduced. With no predators, many are out of control...rabbits, possum, goats, deer and others.
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The lodge main room was huge and very inviting.
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The vistas from my villa room were awesome.
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The trip was a hunting trip and the site seeing a bonus along the way. Here is a huge stag sunning himself in the morning.
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I got my stag on the third day in the afternoon, with the fourth day coming up quickly.
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On the morning of the fourth day we went out to see what we could scare up and were surprised to find a great 8 point Sika deer late in the morning.
The opportunity had presented itself and I decided to get the sika if we could make a long stalk on him. We were able to cross a valley from about 1500 yards out and make a good stalk. Here is the sika...
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Morning of the 5th day it was off to the south island for some mountain hunting. The south island is much more mountainous and has several ski areas.
The FAA hasn't made it to New Zealand, this was a mountain on our approach to Queenstown.
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On our drive to the Cardrona Terrace Lodge, we traversed the highest state highway in New Zealand and stopped for this shot. www.cardronaterrace.com
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With few roads and no way to get into the backcountry in the time most out of country hunters have the best way to get 'er done is the kerosene taxi.
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The views from the chopper are fantastic.
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We were able to spot a tahr on the first afternoon we went out.
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The taxi gets you up close and personal with the mountains.
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The next morning we set out at day break to hunt for chamois in the rugged cliffs. We were very fortunate to get on some early before the weather front rolled in.
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Here is where we were when we shot the chamois and the helicopter was coming in to get us. This is my guide below me, I am up the cliff.
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So with the hunting out of the way in short order we got to cruise around a bit the next day.
If you saw "The World's Fastest Indian" you'll recognize Burt Munro came from New Zealand, the museum there has some of the movie vehicles.
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You'll recognize his car
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The hood is signed by Anthony Hopkins who played Burt
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And by the director Roger Donaldson
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They had a bunch of old bikes there too, here are a couple
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and an old Indian
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All in all a great trip and too short. Next time I'll go in the summer rather than winter and get in some fly fishing and hopefully a fly'n'ride run on a Harley.
Leaving Queenstown was a bittersweet moment, wanting to get home and yet having found a great new country where you can, for the most part understand the locals, wanting to stay in New Zealand longer.
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Great pics - looks like you had a great time down there.
Thanks for taking the time to post them.
:2vrolijk_21:
Nige
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ROGER
THOSE ARE AWSOME PICTURES. GLAD YOU HAD A GREAT TRIP AND LOOKS LIKE LUCK WAS ON YOUR SIDE TOO. I WISHED I COULD DO THAT, MAN THATS GOING TO MAKE ME DAY DREAM TODAY. THANKS!! :2vrolijk_21:
DAVE
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Roger....Sounds like a great trip man! Thanks for sharing the report and pictures. Looks like a great place to take a trip!
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Roger that looked and sounded like a great trip. I saw the heart and lung shot on the first stag you dropped. Oh and when you hunt for chamois is that the same type of thing to dry your bike with. ;) Later,Q
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Roger,
Very nice pictures. Would be a beautiful area on 2 wheels, no doubt ! :2vrolijk_21:
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Roger,
Great pictures thanks for sharing. :2vrolijk_21: Looks like you had a lot of good hunting there.
:pumpkin:
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
:fireman:
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Thanks guys, I wanted to give everybody some idea of how big the country is down there.
The south island was a lot like Colorado to me. The country only has a total of about 4.5 million people and over half of the live in the top third of the north island.
Q, that would be a good dryer for the bikes, as long as it was at an idle.
At one point we were going to the bush and took doors of one of the helicopters. It does get a bit windy.
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Here I am on the right thread for a change. ::)
Roger,
Thanks for sharing your pictures and impressions with us. Did you get any pics of Burt Munro's Indian ?
I don't hunt cause I prefer Black Angus beef, but WOW !!!!! what a set of trophies.
B B
PS
Remind me not to pi$$ you off in Nelson or I'll be hangin on your wall LOL
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Roger,
Great pics!, what a place, the country looks incredible. Thanks for sharing.
Ed :pepper:
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Looks like a great vacation Rog. And good results too! What'd you do with all that meat? Even you couldn't have eaten all that in a week! ;D Great pics too. Thanks for sharing them. Hoist! 8)
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Here I am on the right thread for a change. ::)
Roger,
Thanks for sharing your pictures and impressions with us. Did you get any pics of Burt Munro's Indian ?
I don't hunt cause I prefer Black Angus beef, but WOW !!!!! what a set of trophies.
B B
PS Remind me not to pi$$ you off in Nelson or I'll be hangin on your wall LOL
B B,
Unfortunately the day we were there the other museum that has a replica of the Indian had just closed for the day and we didn't get back to it as I was leaving the following day. I did watch the movie for the first time while in Wanaka, pretty neat feel good movie. Burt was pretty amazing old codger by the time he ran at the Salt Flats. Imagine going over 200 mph on a 29 Indian. http://www.indianmotorbikes.com/features/munro/munro.htm
It is the Warbird museum there that has it and this is a shot from the web.
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Thanks SpeEd, Howie all of the meat goes to the lodges or the help there.
They get a lot of vineison which is a staple of NZ along with lamb. I had a killer lamb shank one night.
The south island is a big wine producing area as well.
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Thanks for sharing Roger, looks like a great trip and a successful one hunting wise. I was in NZ for maybe a week one time, and found the people really great there. Not as nutz as the Aussies, but they do enjoy their beer too.
:drink:
Joe
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B B,
Unfortunately the day we were there the other museum that has a replica of the Indian had just closed for the day and we didn't get back to it as I was leaving the following day. I did watch the movie for the first time while in Wanaka, pretty neat feel good movie. Burt was pretty amazing old codger by the time he ran at the Salt Flats. Imagine going over 200 mph on a 29 Indian. http://www.indianmotorbikes.com/features/munro/munro.htm
It is the Warbird museum there that has it and this is a shot from the web.
I actually watched that movie on the plane ride to see BB in February. i thought it was a very good movie. Better than most you get to see on a plane.
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Outstanding shots, Roger (photos and wildlife)!!! :znotworthy: . Makes me want to put it on my list of places to go before I die!
:-Jerry
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Outstanding shots, Roger (photos and wildlife)!!! :znotworthy: . Makes me want to put it on my list of places to go before I die!
:-Jerry
A definite must see country having seen it. Lots to do and great people as CVOJOE says.
Q, I thought it was a good film too. The guy had determination, that's for sure.
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Roger looks like you had a great time. The smiles says it all. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Bubba
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Roger looks like you had a great time. The smiles says it all. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Bubba
Thanks Bubba, it was great.
You'll appreciate this one, I ate most of my meals in the kitchen with my guide and the chef. Relaxed and it was fun to watch the chef working, one night they had a sitting for 24 guests, he was a busy boy.
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Hey chef, how about three steaks and we eat back here again tonight. :2vrolijk_21:
Comin' right up..............
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Hey chef, how about three steaks and we eat back here again tonight. :2vrolijk_21:
Comin' right up..............
Now that is a steak!!!! :2vrolijk_21: Yummy!! :smilie_koch1:
:pumpkin:
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
:fireman:
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ROGER BY SEEING SOME OF YOUR PICTURES OF YOUR HUNTING TRIPS YOU MUST HAVE ONE FINE LOKKING TROPHY ROOM. COULD YOU SHARE THAT WITH US. :nixweiss: :worthless:
THX DAVE
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Dave, this trip will double the mounts. I have only mounted a few of the animals I have taken as they were either unique or special to me. The trophy room is being built at the new house we have under construction, so once that's done these can go into one room.
I mounted the first deer I got, a four point muley. My dad, brother and son were on that hunt with me. My dad had taken so many deer he'd lost count but when I dropped this deer and we all were standing over it he said' "you have to mount this one." Long story short he went on to say he'd never taken as nice and symetric a deer, so I mounted it.
The bear in this room was also my first black bear of three. Nearly 6 feet squared and special for the friends that were there and since it was my first.
(Don't mind my unpacking from the NZ trip, I'm sorting through the stuff I need to pack for a fishing trip to Manitoba this coming Saturday.)
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You'll start to see a pattern here, this is my first bull elk, a 6X6 that I took in 2003 in New Mexico.
Pretty nice elk, especially for my first bull. If I mount another it will need to be bigger, I've done euro mounts on my other 3 and expect to mount them in the garage at the new house.
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In 2005 we went to Truth of Consequences New Mexico for an Oryx (gemsbok) hunt on Ted Turner's ranch outside the White Sands Missle Range. The federal government had brought in the oryx in the 70's and they are a once in a lifetime draw in New Mexico.
The herd has expanded and is threatening to cross the Rio Grande to go north so the state has some landowner tags avaialable and that's why we went to Turner's place, no waiting for the draw.
I took a 38" bull that is a trophy in my book, great trip, I got him after an eight hour stalk crawling through the desert of New Mexico.
The elk and oryx currently subside in the living room, awaiting the new game room.
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Finally and not yet received, although the taxidermist emailed they are done and has my money, will be my moose from the 2006 trip to the Yukon Territory of Canada.
He is 59" wide and will mount above the fireplace mantel in the new house.
Geez, Dave, I hadn't thought about it but with the four mounts from NZ these things are starting to add up. Maybe I need a bigger room ::)
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I also found a set of wolf/grizzly kill antlers that will mount over the garage door. The ones on the left in the picture are the found ones.
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Finally and not yet received, although the taxidermist emailed they are done and has my money, will be my moose from the 2006 trip to the Yukon Territory of Canada.
He is 59" wide and will mount above the fireplace mantel in the new house.
Geez, Dave, I hadn't thought about it but with the four mounts from NZ these things are starting to add up. Maybe I need a bigger room ::)
The size of that ole boy looks as if it would need a room of his own. i remember that one from last year. What a nice bull, thanks for posting your trophies, and i wish you luck fishing next week.Whats the target on that trip. :nixweiss:
Dave
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The size of that ole boy looks as if it would need a room of his own. i remember that one from last year. What a nice bull, thanks for posting your trophies, and i wish you luck fishing next week.Whats the target on that trip. :nixweiss:
Dave
Little bit of walleye and northern pike Dave, hope to see a few of these......
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Ahh yea Roger, thats a keeper for sure. got to do a little northern pike fishing when i was up in mich a few weeks ago. A few good ones but nothing that good. :2vrolijk_21: Good luck next week and keep us posted. :worthless:
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Thanks to share the pics of your travels !
Jacques
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Sounds like a great time.
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Sounds like a great time.
It was a great trip, the more I think about it one of the best things may have been being "unplugged" for 9 days.
My cell phone worked there when I turned it on so I stuffed it in the bottom of my bag
and never turned it on again :2vrolijk_21:
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Great Pictures, thanks for sharing. Looks like a fantastic trip for sure.
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Great trip, Roger! Fantastic pics - hunt of a lifetime.
Good idea on turning off that cell phone.
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Roger,
Great stuff man, thanks for sharing. :2vrolijk_21:
I am very jealous. I would love to take a bike tour of New Zealand and Australia. Someday...
Note to self: Don't pissoff Roger. He is apparently well armed, and a good shot. :coolblue:
Later,
Ghost
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Seems like you had a great time.I enjoyed the pictures so much thanks for sharing.You seem to be a great marksman you got whatever you laid your eyes on. :drink:
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Thanks everyone, glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Altugo, just fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and enjoy the outdoors.
Anyone that would love to see a beautiful country and has the opportunity to go to New Zealand should jump at the opportunity. I am thinking my next trip there will be for a motorcycle tour.
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If thats gonna be in winter (northern hemisphere) i might join you if you dont mind.Just let me know beforehand. :drink:
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If thats gonna be in winter (northern hemisphere) i might join you if you dont mind.Just let me know beforehand. :drink:
Will do. Canuck and SanJose Duke talked about a trip down there as well. We'll talk in Nelson and let you know.