On March 20, 2022, Adam and Aaron, also known as The Fiordland Boys, decide to go for an afternoon hunt to see if they can hear their first roar for the year. Being early in the season, their expectations were not overly high. Whether it was something to do with the hinds' cycle, the weather, or just a touch of good old lady luck, not long after leaving the truck and giving their first roar, the valley lights up with replies ..read more

If you haven't come across Kaelah James' mouth-watering wild kai recipes on social media by now, you must've been living under a rock. Kaelah's Wild Kai Kitchen has amassed more than 23,000 Instagram followers at the time of writing as more and more people are drawn to her creative approach to cooking wild food. But there's a lot more to Kaelah and her family than the beautiful photos and recipes she shares online. Kaelah is passionate about raising awareness of hunting, spearfishing, fishing, and greater self-sufficiency and food sovereignty. She also cares deeply about rekindling our connec ..read more

What's the best hunting advice for beginners? When you're new to hunting, there's a lot to learn. From loading and firing a gun and getting your eye in to understanding range, wind, weather and safety - there are many skills to pick up on your way to becoming a capable hunter. While there's no substitute for getting out there and doing it, we decided to reach out to some more experienced hands to ask their advice. After putting the call out on social media, we were pretty impressed with some of the advice that came in. Some of it might seem a bit obvious at first, but if you can master some of ..read more

This stuffed venison backstrap recipe with native New Zealand horopito brandy sauce breathes new life into the tender venison back cuts. The backstrap is butterflied, seasoned, and filled with a heady mix of mushrooms, pecans and herbs before being tied, panfried then baked in the oven to medium rare perfection. To serve, a peppery horopito and brandy cream sauce is poured over the sliced venison portions, which compliments the meat beautifully. You can use any variety of mushroom. I used field mushrooms, but button, porcini or shiitake would work well. If you don't like pecans, yo ..read more

Matt McIntyre heads into the Canterbury high country with a couple of mates in pursuit of his first Red Stag during the Roar season. Over the Easter weekend, the men put in three days of solid hunting and stumble upon a fair amount of good fortune along the way. Story by Matt McIntyre.  ..read more

Fiordland National Park is a mecca for hunting, hiking and anything to do with the outdoors in New Zealand. If you're planning a hunting trip in the region, you should definitely do a bit of homework before you show up to ensure you make the most of it. Who better to give you a rundown on hunting in Fiordland than The Fiordland Boys, who know the region like the backs of their hands. In this hunting guide to Fiordland, you'll learn about safety, hunting access, the wildlife on offer and the ballot system, and the unique climate and weather. Make sure to check out our guide to the best hikes in ..read more

With The Roar season upon us, there's plenty of venison going around and Kaelah's Wild Kai Kitchen is here with a recipe to help you put that meat to good use. These BBQ Korean Subs, also known as banh mi, make for a simple, flavour-packed meal using the "quick cook" cuts of the deer. Kaelah takes the classic meat and cheese sub and fancies it up using a tasty BBQ marinade, the sour and umami notes of kimchi, cheese, and a wicked spicy mayo. This is a great way to balance out the gamey flavour of rutting stag meat and makes for a welcome change to the traditional venison fry-up. Be s ..read more

Ollie Craig heads to the East Coast of the North Island for two days of shore diving. It had been a couple of months since he last went spearfishing in New Zealand and with the fridge and freezer back home empty, he was keen to restock with the abundance of fresh seafood on offer. The East Coast is home to spectacular coastlines, incredible geography above and below water, and fantastic diving. Check out the video below to watch Ollie encounter paua, crayfish, blue moki, John Dory, butterfish and more in fantastic diving conditions. It's fair to say the freezer is full again. Make sure to wa ..read more

This quick and easy fallow deer recipe is a great way to cook up venison steaks that are full of flavour. Recipe by Ollie Craig. Fallow Deer are found throughout New Zealand with herds both on private and public land ranging from north of Auckland all the way down to Southland. They are the second most popular deer species hunted in New Zealand after Red Deer. I am lucky enough to have access to a private block where I hunt Fallow Deer on a regular basis as it is my main meat supply and protein source along with the fish I obtain while spearfishing. Fallow is a milder tasting meat ..read more

Fish collars are often discarded in favour of the boneless fillets. But the collars can be good eating, especially when the fish is sizeable and prepared nicely. You can think of them as the "spare ribs" of seafood cuisine. You have to put in a bit of work and get your fingers into it, but the payoff is always delicious and more than worth it. After hooking a good sized Hāpuka off the Kaikōura coast, Kaelah James aka Kaelah's Wild Kai Kitchen, smoked up the collars with a decadent herb butter and wild banana passionfruit dressing ..read more