When you hear "New Zealand," you might be thinking of the filming location for an extremely popular movie trilogy ... and you wouldn't be wrong. The terrain that accurately modeled the Shire and Mordor is the same terrain that Savage Arms' Beth Shimanski was set to pursue two big-game species: red stag and black tahr. And that terrain is, shall we say, challenging. She had to prepare, and prepare extensively.
Wrote Shimanski, "Like I do with any hunting trip, I put in the work to make sure I am ready physically for the demands of the hunt. We knew this trip would take us on long stalks, up mountains, and through a wide variety of weather conditions. I hiked with my pack for weeks leading up the trip. I took up spin classes at the gym to make sure my cardio and legs were ready. I got back in the pool to make sure my lungs were in good shape." 
Shimanski's suspicions that she would need every shred of physical fitness she could muster proved correct. Snowy mountaintops and craggy valleys abound in the area she hunted ... suitable mainly for mountain goats like the black tahr that Shimanski and her team were chasing.
"The first day of the hunt was amazing," she noted. "My hunting partner tagged out on his stag in the first two hours of the hunt. After lunch, we found a stag that I was excited about. We stalked into place, found it bedded and got to within 150 yards. I was sitting down, rifle on the shooting sticks, waiting for it to stand up and give us a shot.
"But as you all know, things happen in hunting that force you to make decisions in a moment. As we sat on the hillside and waited for my stag to stand, we got a glimpse of a tahr to our left, in rifle range, but more importantly, in a place where tahr should not have been. Knowing we had more stag in this area, and even though I had my rifle aimed at a great trophy, we made a call to stalk tahr in the area instead. You will always second guess decisions after the fact ... "
This episode of Savage Journeys takes you to the wild and wonderful land of New Zealand. If you've ever wondered whether you have what it takes to do a dream hunt in some of the world's most rugged territory, watch on for the thrilling and authentic pursuit of some of the world's most challenging game.
