From making the booking with a phone call to Thomas, to the day we were dropped off and picked up, couldn’t have gone smoother. The team at Helicopters Nelson are professional and very obliging. We usually fly into DOC areas with tents etc, but were limited to dates and times this year due to work constraints so a phone call with Thomas and his suggestion of the Gosling Camp to work with our 2 ½ day time window for a meat hunt seemed like a good idea, although I took his promise of “you won’t have any trouble shooting deer on this block” with a grain of salt….But flying over the block and seeing the good numbers of deer had us all grinning!

The camp made this trip all the more comfortable with the fantastic hut and cooking facilities with running water. The shower and flushing toilet are just an added bonus so If you are thinking of taking kids or first time hunters/partners this is the block to get. No need to pack heavy as this has it all (including pillows to go with the comfortable mattresses) and even a Weber BBQ with all the necessary cooking utensils plates etc.

There is a range of hunting opportunities from staying on the flat and glassing at the faces and gully’s for the sneaky fallow to climbing the hills and steeper terrain for the abundant reds on the block. There are also goats and pigs in good numbers and a few hares and rabbits as well so something for everyone and ability.

We averaged shots from 80m to 240m on deer with the ranges to go longer if you have the skill. You might even get a fallow shooting off the picnic table like we did while we waited for our sausages to cook on the barbie!

I will be booking this block again.

Cheers, Jason