What does Paradise cost?

"I'm leaving New Zealand to travel, see and hunt the world"

It’s hard to explain it to people. When others tried to explain it to me way back when, I gave them the same blank stare in response that I now get. After hunting for over 25 years, building up a network of great private property's to hunt on, developing great relationships with farmers, decades of local knowledge, a great crew of mates who have helped me and a family that has supported me along the way, now I say good bye to all of that, and start from scratch.

"I live in Paradise"

It was hard waving goodbye to hunting like this

I've thought and said that enough times to fill Lake Ellesmere.

But one day I realised every other hunter from around the world that I meet says the same thing. Every second post of some amazing hunt from around the world, is titled "my day in paradise", or "living the dream". So began the process of swapping my dream life in paradise for the chance of finding it somewhere else, if only just briefly.

What will I wave goodbye to?

Losing my Dad to his long battle with Alzheimer's in 2014 reminded me that life is short, but that's easier to say than to act upon. I sold my house and quit my job, flights and travelling are expensive....but. You can get another job and make more money. It’s not always that simple, but most people can be reemployed in a few weeks to a few months. What I am really saying goodbye to is a lifetimes worth of hunting.

I am leaving New Zealand in the peak of my hunting. I've simply never had as many opportunities as I do now.

This is what hunting trips are all about.

Falling asleep beside the camp fire surrounded

by your mates after a big day in the field

No more phone calls at the same time, every year, from the same farms and estates, so exact, I don't need a calendar to tell me what day it is. By who is calling me, and what they’re telling me, I already know.

I fill in the time between calls and hunting, with a pair of hiking boots on my feet, a 4WD full of diesel and a pair of binoculars. I am out scouting fields, rivers, hills and lakes, looking for the next mob of hungry or sleepy birds that I can pursue relentlessly, or a Deer to put in the freezer, and maybe add a new phone number to the list to expect a call from.

Add in saying goodbye to friends and family, and all in all, this idea of mine will "cost" more than any accountant will ever be able to quantify...but.

What would you do in your hunt for Paradise?

Spending time away in the hills with my mates, is what I will miss the most