I hate to tell you but those NZ monsters are canned. Wild reds don't look like that. Here's a pic from a wild big stag contest with the top contenders.
The biggest expense with NZ is the airfare and I signed up for email notifications of special discount prices with NZ airlines. Always got RT air from LAX for under $1k with my best price at $734. NZ has plenty of public land and you can hunt big game in National Parks. No license or tags for...
I am financially poor but rich in time. I'm a self employed taxidermist. Every year I go on multiple adventures on a shoe string. Repeat locations are New Zealand, Hawaii, and Alaska.
All inclusive expenses are NZ under $2,000. Hawaii under $2k. Alaska under $1,000
Where there's a will...
I'm talking about air around properly packaged meat, not exposed meat to air. It's the same principal as hanging meat in the shade and not stacking it in a pile.
Air needs to circulate around the meat in the freezer. When you stack a pile of meat in the freezer the packages in the middle will not freeze right away and will spoil. The meat on the outside of the pile will act as an insulator to the inner packages. Spread them out next time.
There is hunting on all sides of the island and it's not a long drive from one side to the other. Check the regs for where and when. The road going up to Mauna Kea observatory might still be blocked in Feb by protestors. I just got back and it's still going on.
Been hunting Hawaii for decades but always for big game in the spring or summer and always drooled over the upland birds with the season running concurrent with our season. Always said I'd come back for the birds and finally pulled the trigger.