Kiwi correspondent Greg Morton recently tipped us off to a North American booking agent who has somehow escaped our notice but is shaking up the hunting scene in New Zealand in a big way. Read on:
“As a general rule, hunting operations in New Zealand fall into one of three categories. The top echelon hunting outfitters own land, lodges and trophy animals; employ guides and staff; deal with exclusive booking agencies; advertise widely, attend hunting conventions; and charge top-echelon prices. The second echelon has or does some of the above. The third category is freelance guides who take clients on private and public land.
“Obviously these second- and third-tier hunting operations have modest marketing budgets and often seem to hope clients will appear magically. For almost a decade now, Sunspots Safaris (800-266-6132; www.biggamehuntingnewzealand.com) has turned up at the gate of many of these second- and third-echelon operations with first, a plan, later, with clients.....
