High Peak Station: A Family Hunting Experience Unlike Anything Else in the World

When we started planning our three-week trip to New Zealand, there was one stop on the itinerary that everyone was excited about: High Peak Station.

My dad had hunted in New Zealand several times over the years and had always talked about wanting to do a big family trip. My mom had been before as well. Like a lot of family trips, it was something we talked about for years before the timing finally lined up and we decided to make it happen.

Once it became clear that Laura and I were going to be the trip planners, I started researching hunting properties all over New Zealand. We weren't looking for the biggest operation or the most famous one. We were looking for an experience that would work for our entire group. We wanted excellent hunting, but we also wanted comfortable accommodations, great food, experienced guides, and enough activities that the non-hunters and kids would enjoy themselves too.

That's what initially drew me to High Peak Station.

What I didn't realize at the time was that High Peak would end up being one of the highlights of our entire New Zealand adventure.

We arrived in April after spending a few days exploring other parts of the South Island. The High Peak guides picked us up in Christchurch and drove us out to the station. The weather was cool, rainy, and misty, which somehow felt fitting for the landscape we were driving into.

The best way I can describe High Peak is that it feels like Idaho and the Scottish Highlands had a baby.

The property sits in a private valley at the head of the Selwyn River and spans more than 10,000 acres. Rolling hills stretch in every direction. Sheep dot the landscape. Red deer move through the valleys. Snow-capped mountains rise in the distance. There were several moments during our stay when I found myself looking around and thinking, "This can't possibly be real."

High Peak has been in the Guild family since 1973 and is currently home to three generations. You can feel that history when you're there. It doesn't feel like a commercial hunting operation. It feels like a family property that happens to welcome guests into a very special corner of New Zealand.

For our stay, we were based out of The Cookshop, a beautifully restored building that originally housed shearers working on the station more than 150 years ago. It became the gathering place for our entire group. Mornings started there with coffee and breakfast before heading out for the day's adventures. Evenings always ended there around the dining table, sharing stories from the day while Hilary somehow continued producing meal after meal that rivaled some of the best restaurants we've ever eaten in.

I feel like I would be doing High Peak a disservice if I didn't dedicate at least a few paragraphs to the food.

Before the trip, I expected the hunting to be memorable. I didn't expect to still be talking about the meals weeks later.

Every morning, Hilary packed lunches for the group in metal tins that we'd throw in the truck before heading out. Some days it was lamb wraps. Some days homemade pizza. There was always fruit, snacks, and a sweet treat tucked inside. After spending all morning climbing hillsides and glassing valleys, those lunches hit the spot every single time.

Dinner was an entirely different experience. We'd gather for appetizers and drinks before sitting down together each evening. One night featured smoked salmon salad followed by lamb rump with pumpkin and kumara mash in green pea jus and chocolate mousse for dessert. Another night we had salmon that several people in our group still claim was the best they've ever eaten. Much of the produce came directly from the property's garden, and every meal felt thoughtful without ever feeling pretentious.

As wonderful as the accommodations and food were, the biggest surprise of the trip was realizing that High Peak wasn't just built for hunters.

Before we arrived, I honestly assumed the hunters would head out every morning while the rest of us found ways to keep ourselves entertained. Instead, everyone piled into the trucks and went along. The hunters hunted, but the rest of us were still part of the experience. We glassed hillsides together, watched stalks unfold, celebrated successful hunts, and spent entire days exploring parts of the station we never would have seen otherwise.

That sense of inclusion became one of the defining themes of our stay.

One of my favorite examples was Tinsley's wild ram.

Before we left for New Zealand, we'd discovered that it might be possible for Tinsley to hunt while we were there. At first she wasn't sure she wanted to. Then she watched her uncles harvest wild rams and decided she wanted to try.

The crew at High Peak immediately got behind the idea.

The evening before her hunt, Broc helped her practice on a target across a basin. Every time she hit the target, the rest of us standing behind her cheered. By then, everyone was invested in seeing her succeed.

On our final day at High Peak, guides Greg and Lindsey had already located a couple of rams and developed a plan. When it came time to go, Tinsley admitted she was nervous but said she wanted to do it as long as her dad was with her.

The four of them disappeared down a ridge while the rest of us watched from above.

When the opportunity came, she made a great shot. The ram required a few follow-up shots, but she stayed calm, listened carefully, and handled the situation with a level of maturity that made all of us incredibly proud.

Afterward, she walked up to me, pointed at the ram, and said, "Mom, I shot that."

I can still hear the pride in her voice.

What I loved most about that moment wasn't the hunt itself. It was watching a seven-year-old set a goal, admit she was nervous, put in the work, and follow through anyway. The ram will eventually hang above her bed, and we're turning the hide into a rug, but I think the confidence she gained from that experience is the thing she'll carry with her the longest.

Broc's stag provided another story that none of us will ever forget.

He had planned to hunt a red stag during the trip, but in typical Broc fashion, he spent most of the week helping everyone else have their moment first. By the final days of the trip, he still hadn't found an animal he wanted to pursue and seemed perfectly content if he went home empty-handed.

The rest of us, however, had other ideas.

While glassing for my fallow deer one afternoon, he noticed what appeared to be a deadhead in a basin below us. The following day, after Dawson and I harvested our fallow deer, Broc walked down into the area and discovered a massive fresh red stag shed. What immediately caught his attention was that it hadn't naturally fallen off. It had broken off.

A few hours later, while glassing another ridge, he spotted a stag with a missing right antler.

The same side as the shed.

The realization hit everyone at once.

This might actually be the same animal.

What followed was one of those stories that sounds made up until you watch it happen. After discussing the situation with Simon and the guides, Broc decided to pursue the stag. The hunt took several hours and involved plenty of strategy, patience, and even a little help from Eddie, who helped move the herd into a position where Broc could safely make a shot.

When it was all over, the stag scored 682.

An incredible trophy by any standard.

But what made the story special wasn't the score. It was finding the shed, locating the animal, putting the pieces together, and getting the chance to be part of that animal's story in such a unique way.

On our final day, part of our group went fly fishing and landed two beautiful brown trout while the rest of us joined Greg for High Peak's beekeeping experience. Standing in a bee suit surrounded by millions of honey bees wasn't something I expected to do on a hunting trip, but it ended up being one of my favorite memories from the week.

Looking back, I think that's what makes High Peak so special.

We originally chose it because of the hunting. What we discovered was so much more than that.

The hunting was exceptional. The scenery was breathtaking. The accommodations were comfortable and the food was outstanding. But the thing we talk about most often now that we're home is the people.

Simon, Hilary, Greg, Lindsey, Keith, Eddie, and the rest of the High Peak team created an experience that felt personal from beginning to end. By the time we left, it felt less like we'd visited a destination and more like we'd spent a few days with friends.

That's not something you can manufacture.

And it's the reason we'd go back in a heartbeat.