Typical Day & Tactics

Meet your guide or outfitter at the La Tontouta Airport situated about an hour from Noumea. Grab any last provisions in town and drive the 2 hours north to the various hunting areas scattered along the island’s western coast. Arrive at the lodge, which is either a series of outbuildings on a working ranch homestead or a secluded and luxurious series of villas with catered meals. Enjoy a nice dinner and settle in for the evening. Most hunters hear the Rusa roaring as they exit the vehicle at the first hunting spot of the day. Set up in an overlook at dawn, glassing and judging the various stags in a particular valley. Coastal coulees and mangroves forests boast higher deer densities, but some of the largest stags tend to come from less densely populated hunting areas in foothill-type environments.

Hunt until midmorning and head back to the ranch for a quick nap and some lunch, and head back out until dusk, glassing, judging, spotting, and stalking various Rusa stags. The guides are critically looking for old, heavy stags with mid 32+ inch beams, long tines, and no antler damage. Typical shots occur in the prone off a bipod at ranges between 150-300 yards. Sometimes there are too many deer to get close and move in on a specific stag – a perfect scenario for avid long-distance shooters. Hunters bringing their personal custom or long-range rifles can target nearly any stag observed. Rusa trophies will have antler caps boiled, cleaned, and treated. Capes are meticulously worked over and dry salted in compliance with the necessary airlines and import requirements allowing hunters to fly home with their Rusa as checked luggage. It’s a lot of work processing stags to the level needed to avoid costly shipping charges, but with no taxidermist on the island, there is really no other choice.

Once done with Rusa, opportunities to hunt South Pacific Wild Turkeys can be made possible. If wishing to depart hunt camp early, other tourism options can be arranged including beachside resorts, trips into town or fishing, snorkeling, or spearfishing. Hunters are encouraged to bring any dive gear if wishing to enter the water. In all honesty, the reef is breathtaking and a huge attraction for the region, nearly worth the trip alone. It is encouraged to consider some vacationing on the island before or after the Rusa hunting component to experience it. A perfect trip for non-hunting observers!

Landscape & Climate

New Caledonia is a semi-tropical island territory in French Melanesia, about 400 miles long and 40 miles wide, surrounded by the world’s second-largest barrier reef, which in turn forms the world’s largest lagoon. Truly a unique little corner of the world, complete with an array of natural splendors, many of which are deemed UNESCO world heritage sites. The island is actually an ancient and extremely isolated piece of continental crust versus a more recent volcanically formed island like most other islands in the South Pacific. A spine of mountains runs its length and the eastern slopes catch much of the prevailing rain forming a lush rainforest. The western coast, however, is a rain shadow with a more arid, savannah-grassland-type habitat, complete with steep ravines and brushy coulees. It is here we do the bulk of our Rusa hunting. Rivers bordered by dense mangrove forests provide excellent travel corridors connecting the mountain slopes all the way to the coastal estuaries, all of which are patrolled by herds of Rusa deer.

Being so isolated, the island is missing many prominent species. No Crocodiles, and essentially absent of venomous snakes or harmful spiders. Rusa and Flying Foxes are the island’s most numerous mammals, followed by the various feral pigs, goats, dogs, and cats. A unique array of endemic bird species call it home, many of which can be seen nowhere else in the world, the most famous being the flightless Cagou, or Kagu, which is a national symbol, similar to the Kiwi in New Zealand. Most unique however are the island’s endemic geckos. The gentle New Caledonian Giant Crested Day Gecko ranks as the world’s largest Gecko species and can only be found here. The barrier reef, however, is a whole other world, with a dazzling amount of life and color that needs to be experienced firsthand to be fully appreciated. Literally, thousands of species coexist in of the most competitive and life-rich ecosystems on earth.

The Rusa roar spans from mid-July into early September which is the heart of winter in the southern hemisphere. This time of year the weather is almost always quite nice. Occasional light rain, or windy in the afternoons, but overall mostly sunny and warm. T-shirt weather most of the midday, shorts or pants while hunting, and a light sweater morning and evenings, but always flip flops around camp!

Meals & Accommodations

Stay in one-two types of lodgings, depending on the hunting area that week. Options such as outbuildings on working ranch homesteads directly in the hunting area, or lovely private villas in the foothills with jacuzzies and sun porches. Before or after the hunt, clients can also choose to stay at the luxurious 5Star beachside resort with all the comforts and an array of activities ranging from golf to glass-bottom boat tours on the reef. Accommodations are located in secluded rural settings, either in the foothills, the coastal plains, or on the beach. In most cases, they offer privacy with personal bedrooms and bathrooms, wifi, a swimming pool, common lounge areas, and catered meals.

The food here is wonderful. It’s comprised of a unique blend of French and western European gourmet culinary influence but infused with tantalizing local South Pacific ingredients. Delicacies like fresh tuna, prawns, shellfish, coconuts, guavas, or passionfruit are not in short supply. While hunting, breakfasts are light and quick. Toast, coffee, cereal, juice, a croissant or pastry, and so on. Lunches are either back at the ranch or in the field. Freshly made french bread, dry sausages or ham, various pate, nice cheeses, fruit, and bottled water are typical. For dinner enjoy items like grilled lamb, pork and beef cutlets, Rusa steaks, fried reef fish, or various local seafood, served with comfort foods like rice, salads, French bread, cold cuts, and cheeses followed by a fruity local desert.

Key Equipment Suggestions

This hunt only requires basic equipment. A day pack, 10x binoculars, rangefinder, comfortable walking boots, rain gear or light sweater, headlamp or flashlight, skinning or deboning knife, some latex gloves, European double adaptor, polarized sunglasses, and a digital camera covers the essentials. A spotting scope & tripod, snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, flippers, 3-5mm shorty wetsuit, reef shoes, and gloves) are recommended if you wish to get the most out of your hunt and enjoy the reef. To assist getting your trophy home easily it is encouraged hunters bring the following items; old pillowcases for capes, a length of old garden hose for antler tips, a sheet or small roll of bubble wrap for skulls, and a roll of packing tape or duck tape. This ensures hunters have everything to safely transport and successfully meet all airlines or biosecurity restrictions post-inspection at the airport when departing. Hunter orange is not required.