Testimonials

New Zealand, what more can you say than WOW! Africa is still my most favorite place to hunt only because of the numbers of different species you can hunt. But for all around awesome scenery and hunting, New Zealand is the place to be. I hunted with Neville Cunningham of Mt. Cook Trophy Hunting, what a great guide and all around fun host. We had a blast whether hunting or just sitting around camp.

I was on a Chamois and Tahr hunt this trip. As you can see by the pictures I got what I was after. This hunt was done with the aide of a Helicopter. The Helicopter allows us to get up in the mountains where you otherwise could not go. So we were able to hunt animals that had probably never seen a human.

My Chamios was shot at 300 yards running with a .338 Pro Hunter. What a shot, yes I am patting myself on the back. Luck or Skill I don’t know but I’ll take either! The Tahr was spotted several hundred yards away but when it came down to it the Shot was only about 100 yards as the Tahr came right to us down the slopes.

To see all the action tune in this summer on KBSI Fox 23. Oh yeah……Even my cameramen Jimmy Storck got to take a nice NZ Ram.

Rocky Francis, Broadside Adventures

I met Neville and Sandra Cunningham of Mt. Cook Trophy Hunting at our March, 2009 fundraiser. After talking with Jim and Mike Leonard, who have hunted with Mt. Cook, I placed a deposit on the five-animal special promo hunt for a June/July dated. I invited my son, Aaron, to accompany me, which he gladly accepted. After quick preparation followed by a long flight on New Zealand Air, Neville met us at Christchurch.

After a great seafood lunch, we headed to his home near Timaru, where we met his wife and partner Sandra. Since Neville had to drive back to Christchurch for another pick-up, Sandra took charge the next morning and drove us to the Mt. Cook campsite, along with lunch and sight-seeing on the side.

After settling in and meeting Tony Barber, my Private Hunting Guide, we prepared for the first day hunt start. This time of the year is their winter – not too cold, but snow is common in this mountain country. Tony was always checking the weather patterns because part of my hunt was a helicopter trip in to the mountains for chamois and tahr, and the sky must be clear and free of fog.

Lots of game was spotted on the first day, but no silver medal stag with good horns was seen. On the second day luck changed, and I took my stag, along with a silver fallow buck.

The next phase of the hunt was for an Arapawa ram. After taking my ram, we waited for the weather to co-operate for my helicopter hunt. After the second day of waiting, the perfect hour came. Tony explained in detail the dangers and safety for this hunt. The object was to fly in to the mountains and look for a quality tahr. After spotting one, we had to drop off and get in to a shooting position. The tahr had to co-operate for the shot. The pilot had to find a near touch on a steep incline in deep snow. After the second attempt, I watched my trophy plummet down the mountain side. The retrieval was harder yet. The chamois was next. It was the same process over again. It took four drops for the two animals. After that, we settled down below a snowy flat and took some great photos. This all happened in two and a half hours, from start to finish!

From there we packed up and returned to Timaru. We finished the last day with a night hunt for wallaby and rabbits, all this in seven days!

I would highly recommend this hunt to everyone. Neville is a superb host, and Sandra is a great cook with a super personality. I’m 72 years old and if I can do this, anyone can. This is a family operation with a lot of personal attention.

Don Card, Lansing, USA