Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - May 2018

BUCKET LIST: NEW ZEALAND BY WADE MIDDLETON Bucket lists are something thatmany peopledream up in their heads, talk about, plan for, and some- thing that we’ve all got. It may be a trip, it may be an accomplishment, or an award for some people. Personally, I’ve got my own bucket list that has a va- riety of hunting, fishing, as well as personal things that I want toaccomplish. Oneof those itemsonmy list has always been to travel to New Zealand and go on a Red Stag hunt. Thanks to an invitation from Thompson/Center Arms , I was able to do that recently. Just getting there, from our home in San Antonio, required nearly 40 hours of travel (which is always fun) to get from our front door to the Glen Dene Lodge who was hosting us. We traveled through Los Angeles, then Auckland, and eventually arrived in Queenstown, New Zealand. Queenstown was a really nice small town on the shores of a lake. The clean city has a waterfront village feel full of shops and restaurants. It didn’t take long to really be taken in by the New Zealand culture and lifestyle. This trip was extra special to me because it’s a trip that my wife, Angel, was able to join, so we mixed in both my hunting passion

Red Stag was introduced to New Zealand in the 1850’s. The are the most widespread species existing on both Islands.

with her desire to shop and sightsee. All three of which are easily done in New Zealand. The next morning, after arriving in Queenstown, we all hopped in a van driven by our host Richard Burdon, who along with his wife Sara, own and op- erate Glen Dene Station located on the shores of Lake Hawea. One thing that stood out to me was how friendly their staff was and that you were wel- comed with open arms by everyone from the mo- ment you arrive until long after you departed. Afterwesettled inandcheckedour rifles, itwas time to dive into the hunting. The game plan for the first