Wāhine & Wapiti

As Female Advocate for the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation committee I was tasked with ideating and organising a four-day expedition into the Wapiti region of Fiordland National Park alongside Foundation GM, Roy Sloan.

In a male dominated sport it can be tough and a little intimidating for novice female hunters. We wanted to create a welcoming and unique experience to offer some consolation in the scale-tipped arena. Our mission was to create a safe, inclusive and educational environment where women of any experience level could come together to share knowledge, build skills and foster connection with nature and each other through hunting and conservation. The aim was and is to promote camaraderie, self-sufficiency, and conservation ethics all while challenging stereotypes—hosted in the heart of Aotearoa’s untamed wilderness, Fiordland.

November 2023, the call went out for wahine across Aoteraoa to submit why they would be a great candidate for this trip. We had 148 ladies enter a submission—we asked the basic questions that helped us paint a picture of the individuals; fitness levels, have you been to Fiordland before and in what capacity, mountain & hiking experience and so on. And then we asked the more intimate questions; what do you want to get out of this, and what makes you a great candidate. We were able to choose a cross section of ladies with varying backgrounds, ages, experience and reasons from coming—the hope was to curate a group that would not only learn from our guide, Roy, but from each other.

Five Days, nine Wahine, one guide (Roy, poor Roy). There were tears of joy, tears of frustration, laughter, banter, deep connection, personal growth and everything in between. And if that wasn’t enough, we had the full Fiordland wildlife exposé. Whio, Kea, Wapiti and even a Kiwi, yes a Kiwi. We wanted to offer this opportunity to experience the Wapiti area beyond entering the hunting ballot. There’s so much pressure, intensity and preparation around going in for ten days, it’s a huge commitment, especially if you’re new to this. How else can you experience it that feels less intimidating? The only requirements for this trip were being able to get to Te Anau, have a true sense of adventure and bring an open mind.