Howdy OB, it's been a minute. Hope y'all have been well. We are currently on the other side of the earth on our final night in New Zealand. We spent the majority of our time on the South Islands, hunting/fishing/touring with the good folks from Avon Valley Safaris. Highly highly recommend them.
The scenery in South Island is incredible.
HUNTING:
My 3rd born and I chased the elusive Red Stag. Took a while, but patience paid off. The kids all netted a possum during a night hunt, and my 2nd and 3rd each nabbed a goat.
FISHING
We headed out from the little town of Havelock and motored to the Tasman Sea between the South and North Islands. We set up near some tiny islands in about 70M of water, and slayed some blue cod, golden snapper, and gurnards. Fried up some on a beach and then had snapper for dinner the next night. Wondrous. And the views were incredible as well.
SIGHTSEEING
On the South Island, we went to Kaikoura to see seals and whales, flew to Lake Tekapo, then spent a few days in Queenstown, including flying over Milford Sound, and saw some of the most amazing sunrises and night skies. On the North Island, we had to visit the Hobbits.
SUMMARY: This was an outstanding trip for the whole family. I cannot recommend Avon Valley Safaris enough. Our US trip planner was Family Expeditions, who I have posted about several times and also highly recommend. We've used them for our Namibian safari and touring, Idaho elk hunting, Alaska fishing, and an anniversary trip (no hunting/fishing) to Argentina, and every trip has been top notch.
I asked Darren, the owner of Avon Valley, about his client base. Off the top of his head, he said Texans were by far biggest single group, and makes up over 2/3rds of the folks from the States. The whole DSC Convention debacle is hurting them pretty dang badly. If you have NZ on your bucket list, give them a call and tell them Big Bill sent you.
In closing, regarding next football season....that's exactly what we're gonna do to them Ags!
The scenery in South Island is incredible.
HUNTING:
My 3rd born and I chased the elusive Red Stag. Took a while, but patience paid off. The kids all netted a possum during a night hunt, and my 2nd and 3rd each nabbed a goat.
FISHING
We headed out from the little town of Havelock and motored to the Tasman Sea between the South and North Islands. We set up near some tiny islands in about 70M of water, and slayed some blue cod, golden snapper, and gurnards. Fried up some on a beach and then had snapper for dinner the next night. Wondrous. And the views were incredible as well.
SIGHTSEEING
On the South Island, we went to Kaikoura to see seals and whales, flew to Lake Tekapo, then spent a few days in Queenstown, including flying over Milford Sound, and saw some of the most amazing sunrises and night skies. On the North Island, we had to visit the Hobbits.
SUMMARY: This was an outstanding trip for the whole family. I cannot recommend Avon Valley Safaris enough. Our US trip planner was Family Expeditions, who I have posted about several times and also highly recommend. We've used them for our Namibian safari and touring, Idaho elk hunting, Alaska fishing, and an anniversary trip (no hunting/fishing) to Argentina, and every trip has been top notch.
I asked Darren, the owner of Avon Valley, about his client base. Off the top of his head, he said Texans were by far biggest single group, and makes up over 2/3rds of the folks from the States. The whole DSC Convention debacle is hurting them pretty dang badly. If you have NZ on your bucket list, give them a call and tell them Big Bill sent you.
In closing, regarding next football season....that's exactly what we're gonna do to them Ags!
