Fish & Game offers young hunters the chance to win hunting weekend in outstanding wetlands

Young aspiring game bird hunters can win a weekend at spectacular wetland locations in Central Hawke’s Bay in a Fish & Game New Zealand competition.

The organisation is inviting aspiring young hunters aged 14 to 17 to enter the competition, which includes two days of hunting in outstanding established wetlands on farms near Waipukurau on the weekend of 24-25 May.

“It will be an absolute privilege for us and the landowners to host eight keen aspiring junior hunters at these two outstanding properties. Many adult hunters will remember the expectation and excitement of childhood, getting up in the dark, having a cooked breakfast, and then going off to the maimai. I am very much looking forward to sharing that experience with our winners.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create lasting memories in the great outdoors.”

Events will include early morning and afternoon hunting adventures. Former New Zealand clay bird shooting champion Dave Hearn will take the winners through firearms safety and a clay bird shoot. All accommodation and meals, including a duck dinner, will be provided.

To enter, aspiring young hunters need to fill in the entry form and write about 500 words explaining why they would love to win and why they would not normally have the opportunity for this experience.

Fish & Game chief executive Corina Jordan said she is looking forward to being one of the supervisors for the event.

“The competition is open to young people aged 14 to 17, ideally with some experience with shooting but who may not have had the chance to go game bird hunting.

“We have so many passionate young people in New Zealand, who would love the opportunity to experience game bird hunting. Gerald Wilson and Ben Wilson are passionate about supporting the next generation of hunters, so are offering use of their spectacular wetlands.

Gerald Wilson, himself a keen game bird hunter, began creating the 20 hectares of wetlands on his Kanui Station near Tikokino and satellite farm at Waipukurau in the 1990s. The largest has 10.2 ha of water.

Fed by underground and spring water, these are now home to dozens of different kinds of birds. These include grey ducks, mallards, brown teal, shovelers and paradise ducks, as well as royal spoonbills, pied stilts, bittern, cranes and herons, including the critically endangered Kōtuku White Heron.

Ben Wilson has been developing wetlands on his farm for the past 25 years, all adjacent to the Makaretu River and fed by underground streams. These are now populated by an extensive array of ducks, swans and other waterfowl and much other bird life.

Both farmers’ wetland programmes have included extensive riparian planting, with many native plants, and Gerald and Ben have worked with Fish & Game on several of their larger wetland projects.

Fish & Game’s National Council oversees the New Zealand Game Bird Habitat Trust programme. $5 from every licence goes to the Game Bird Habitat Trust, which provides funding to help create and enhance habitats for the benefit of game birds and other wildlife. Around 30 ha of land per year is restored or protected this way.

Winners will need to make their own way to the properties. Accommodation will be provided for the young people and accompanying caregivers but only the juniors will be participating in the hunting. Each winner will be accompanied on hunting excursions by a supervising adult with a firearms licence and will be grouped according to age and experience.

For further details and to enter the competition, click here.

Entries must be received by 11 April. The winners will be announced in the April 25th issue of the Fish & Game e-zine Both Barrels.