Your family’s exciting hunting adventure for New Zealand’s red stag, tahr, and chamois awaits you! This is the perfect place for families who want a luxurious trip with hunting and activities. Your luxury home away from home during your trip is set in the Southern Alps. Hunting will take place in the 50,000-acre property around the lodge as well as on independent concessions which give this lodge an additional four million acres of hunting property. You will be after only mature, trophy quality animals during your hunt.
The excellent guides who are seasoned and well-trained will provide you with an 
excellent hunting experience. Whether this is you or a family member’s first time hunting or if you are a seasoned veteran, the guides will create a custom plan for you that sets you up for the highest chance of success. Magnificent animals roam these great mountains, and your guide’s goal is to help you find them.
Nestled in the mountains is the luxury lodge that you will call home during your stay. The lodge has four beautiful chalets. Each one has its own hot tub, viewing deck, ensuite bathroom, and stunning views. The main lodge has a lovely dining room, two comfortable living rooms with fireplaces, and a kitchen. While sipping coffee in front of the fire or relaxing at the dining room table with dinner you will be able to look out over the valley to the nearby mountains. The tranquil views will delight you!
The countryside surrounding your includes rolling lowlands, steep ridges, permanent snowfields, forested hillsides, sub-alpine scrublands, open mountain tops, and more. The sheer beauty and diversity will leave you stunned!
Accommodations & Meals
Welcome to one of the most secluded luxury lodges in the world. With no road access, a helicopter will be your car! As you land at the lodge, you will be in awe of the beatify of the mountains around you, the grasslands below you, and the river that splits them.
This luxury lodge has 4 chalets. Each is decorated in a tasteful high-country style with a king-size bed (or two twin beds), ensuite bathroom, hot tub, and private deck. Your chalet’s floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the grasslands surrounding you and the mountains in the distance. Relax in the evenings with a glass of wine in your hot tub as your take in the sunset.
Connected to the chalets through elevated wooden boardwalks, the main lodge in the heart of the camp. The lodge has two separate living areas, wood-burning fireplaces, a beautiful library, a cellar, and a first-class dining room and kitchen. You will enjoy cozying up on the couch with a fire and hot coffee as you look across to the mountains!
Meals:
Meals here are 5-star. Enjoy delectable seafood, beautiful meat cuts, and fabulous presentation. Lunch could be at the lodge or out in the field depending on your day’s activities. Dinner will be set in the dining room overlooking the mountains as you enjoy the romantic atmosphere.
Hunting
The hunting focus at this lodge is on the highly sought-after Red Stag, Bull Tahr, and Chamois. Other species such as Fallow Buck, South Pacific Goat, and Aarapawa Ram can also be accessed. What makes the hunting at this lodge unique is that you can choose to hunt for a single day or multiple days.
New Zealand has a very temperate climate and has no natural predators, meaning there is little to help the country manage its populations. This combination provides ample opportunities and means hunting here is essential to conservation.
This lodge privately owns a 50,000-acre parcel of wilderness providing guests with exclusive access to prime hunting territory in the Southern Alps. In addition to this, they hold independent concessions to hunt on conservation lands covering some four million acres including National Parks.
The region’s terrain is nothing short of dramatic. Gently undulating lowlands are shouldered by steep ridges rising to permanent snow fields. Clearly defined vegetation zones separate densely forested hillsides, sub-alpine scrubland, and open mountain tops. Helicopters are often used to gain access to areas that would otherwise take days to hike.
The pristinely trained guides have a comprehensive knowledge of the hunting areas and terrains. This allows guests to have a safe experience throughout the remote areas and the highest chance of success. The professional hunting guides here are committed to providing guests with a world-class hunting experience. Our guides are skilled at assessing a hunter’s ability and thus ensuring success. Whether guests are well-seasoned and internationally experienced or looking to pick up a rifle for the first time, the guides can adapt their expertise, accordingly, ensuring the highest level of satisfaction is achieved. Every guide is a member of the New Zealand Professional Hunting Guides Association and is further trained specifically to exceed industry benchmarks.
Activities
Signature Series: these activities are guest favorites and are the most spectacular privately guided scenic flight experiences that this lodge offers.
Fiordland Heli Traverse: This is a guest favorite! Pass through majestic fiords, get up close to huge waterfalls, hover over ancient ice, explore isolated mountain lake, see the region’s unique wildlife in its otherwise inaccessible natural habitat, and more.
Fiordland & West Coast Highlights: Explore the grandeur of northern Fiordland and the West Coast by helicopter, including unique and uninhabited environments such as glaciers, forests, mountains, ice carved cliffs, and wildlife.
Aoraki Mt. Cook: A phenomenal helicopter adventure taking in New Zealand’s highest peak, Aoraki Mt. Cook from both the air and the ice, as well as breathtaking blue ice caves.
Dusky Sound Series: Spend the day exploring the Dusky Sound with luxury ocean and aviation explorations.
Dusky Sound Day Expedition: After a stunning scenic flight you will land on our custom-built floating helipad and transfer to our boat to enjoy a day of fishing, discovery and wildlife viewing throughout Dusky Sound.
Adventure Series: Go beyond the beaten path and explore the best of New Zealand’s outdoors.
Heli Skiing: The ultimate New Zealand winter experience! Join us for a unique New Zealand alpine heli ski experience with your own private guide and helicopter.
Mountain Biking: New Zealand’s most exclusive guided mountain bike experience. Enjoy the benefits of helicopter access to remote single tracks or lakeside scenic traverses.
Hiking: Enjoy bespoke guided hiking experiences to help you explore backcountry corners of New Zealand rarely visited by others.
West Coast Adventure: Walk along isolated, inaccessible west coast beaches, explore ancient beach forests and encounter New Zealand’s unique wildlife with the stunning backdrop of Mt. Aspiring and its glaciers.
Guided Hunting: Focus on the highly sought-after big game animals found in the South Island, Red Stag, Bull Tahr and Chamois. Choose to hunt for one day or for multiple days.
Backcountry Fishing: On the eastern side of the Southern Alps, the rivers run from their narrow headwaters into braided streams which are home to wild rainbow and brown trout known for their strength and fight.
Discovery Series: Shorter experiences at a slower pace. Perfect for those special occasions to share with friends or family.
Mountain Kitchen Lunch: This phenomenal lunch experience combines a spectacular scenic helicopter flight from Queenstown or Wanaka, a snow or alpine landing enroute, with lunch at the world-renowned lodge.
Minaret Station Highlights: Start the day by hiking down the valley from the Alpine Lodge with your guide. Here you will be picked up by helicopter and flown onto the 50,000-acre farm where you will enjoy a combination of private farm tour, lake fishing, gourmet lunch and the opportunity for further exploration on this private property.
Mt. Aspiring Discovery: Explore the area around the lodge with a tailored hike, followed by a flight through the glaciers of the Mt Aspiring massif, is an incredible way to spend a morning or afternoon.
Length of Stay / Itinerary
Each itinerary is custom built for your interests. A typical stay at this lodge is 4-7 nights plus any additional touring.
Family Expeditions will build a perfect touring itinerary to compliment your hunting.
Day 1: Arrive in Wanaka where you will be greeted by your host and transfer to the property via helicopter.
Day 2 -?: Enjoy your choice of hunting, fishing, and the many other activities available!
Departure day: Your host will transfer you by helicopter back to Wanaka
Travel Details & Location
Your flight destination is Wanaka, New Zealand which is located on the South Island.
Trip Insurance & Cancellation Info
Trip insurance is highly recommended to protect your investment on this trip. We will assist you with trip insurance upon booking. See links at the bottom of this page for the two providers we suggest for our clients.
Family Expeditions, LLC confirmation and refund policy:
If your trip is more than 90 days out from date of departure, a 50% non-refundable deposit confirms your reservation and must be received within 10 days of booking to confirm your dates. All trips must be paid in full at least 90 days prior to the departure date. If your trip date is within 90 days, FULL payment for the trip is required. All payments to Family Expeditions are non-refundable. Should you need to reschedule or cancel your trip, we will do everything in our power to assist you in finding a suitable substitute or transferring your dates per the lodge/providers/government requirements. Trip insurance protects your investment!
