IS THE GRASS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE?

to Darwin with the company in 1995 for a three-year contract. I had the intention to transfer back to Victoria in 1998, hopefully to the Bendigo Advertiser in central Victoria.

It had the Kerang lakes and Murray River just an hour to the north, the Wimmera lakes and River to the west, the Western District lakes to the south. Perfect.

The plan failed when I experienced the spectacular goose hunting here just 45 minutes from Darwin’s northern suburbs. So, here we are nearly 25 years later. The other thing that impressed me was how amiable the authorities were to hunters’ requests.

I remember a meeting in the late 1990s with Dr Peter Whitehead and Keith Saalfeld on the stage in front of 30 hunters.

They were outlining their recommendations for the upcoming season and the reasons why.

We had just experienced the second record Wet in a few years, but they were going to reduce the season to three months.

The 30 hunters argued successfully in the two-hour session and turned the scientists around to a four-month season.

I left that meeting suitably impressed to say the least, saying to my mate, that would never happen in Victoria. At that point I knew I was here for good. Earlier this week the population figures came out and it shows a decline for the first time in decades.

I have stayed for the lifestyle, but is there a better lifestyle out there? A friend said look towards New Zealand if you want lifestyle.

I checked out the Fish & Game website and was instantly attracted to Timaru on the South Island.

I have hunted there before and remembered the conditions and landscape were ideal.

There is a short season in February to whet your appetite and the major seasons on 10 gamebird species begin in early May and extend to late August.

The locals can hunt Canada geese yearround and they usually start in February.

Add to that feral pigeon hunting along with rabbits, and it is a shotgunners paradise.

Bag limits range from two for black swans and NZ shoveler ducks to no limits for Bobwhite quails. Up to 50 Mallard ducks can be bagged in some areas.

I can hear you mutter who could use that many birds. They don’t and that is beauty of their wildlife/game management approach.

They have made the bag limits so high that no one aspires to fill them.

They hunt until they have the fill of birds they are willing to process for the table and cease. Knowing that they can do it again when they need to.

Now these bag limits were the same in 2005 and 2010 when I last hunted this zone of the South Island, so they must be sustainable.

Just up the road at North Canterbury they are nearly as good.

The population of the South Island are bird hunting enthusiasts and there is a massive population of hunters.

Isn’t it intriguing that an island not much more than 200km wide and 800km long can support tens of thousands of hunters and have four-month seasons, bag limits of up to 75 ducks and species that include geese, duck, swan, swamp hen, quail, pheasant, partridge and pigeon to hunt.

The NT Field and Game clay target range at the Mickett Creek Shooting Complex is open for practice on Fridays at 4pm till 9pm. There is Sunday Mass practice this morning and next Sunday from 9am till noon. There is 50 target Simulated Field event from 8am on April 21. All are welcome at NT Field and Game.

The NT Field and Game range is available to any sized group on Friday afternoon or can be booked for private/corporate functions at other times. Join Field and Game, www.ntfieldandgame.com.au Like NT Field and Game on Facebook. Email: ntfieldandgame@gmail.com Or fnflodge1@bigpond.com