Clients are asked to arrive at either the La Tontouta International Airport north of the capital city of Noumea OR the Sheraton Deva Spa & Golf Resort near the city of Bourail on Poe Beach. Clients are then personally greeted by their outfitter or guide. The various hunting areas are located between 2-3 hours’ drive north of Noumea, or within an hour of Bourail. In other words, round trip pick-up and drop-off from the lodge is already included.
Noumea is best serviced through Auckland New Zealand, or via Sydney or Melbourne Australia. Best North American jump-off points include Vancouver Canada, or San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Dallas in the US. For North Americans, the most competitively priced flights currently exist from LAX to Noumea via Auckland using Air New Zealand and Aircalin airlines.
Rusa Island Outfitters encourage the use of our trusted travel agent Patrick Wright of TWG www.travelwithguns.com when making airline reservations. TWG has arranged international travel for dozens of our clients over the years at the best available prices with exceptional 24 emergency services.
Passports are required for all international travel. Travel visas are not required for residents of the US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. For other nations, it is the responsibility of the traveler to confirm if travel visas are required.
The hunt itinerary will commence Sunday at 4 pm the day before hunting commences from either La Tontouta International Airport near Noumea or the Sheraton Deva Spa & Golf Resort near Bourail, where hunters are greeted by their guide or outfitter at the arrivals or reception area respectively.
The hunt occurs for 5 full days (Monday to Friday). Once the hunt itinerary has concluded, hunters will be dropped back off by their guide or outfitter in one of those same two locations on Saturday morning.
The main lodge has Wi-Fi which is made available for all clients during their stay. Some of the ranches also have Wi-Fi available during the midday lunch downtime. This is the same for both the airport and any of the resorts before and after the hunt.
In addition, the island has surprisingly good cell coverage for those with global plans or New Caledonian SIM cards for their phones. Another option are Pocket-Wi-Fi’s, available for rent at the airport upon arrival. Cost is roughly $10/day for unlimited Wi-Fi service anywhere on the island.
firearms
Quality rifles and ammunition are available to all hunters at no charge with each hunting package. Rifles are chambered in .270 Winchester, ideal for Rusa deer, and crowned with quality optics. They are very accurate. Any damage caused to the rifle during the hunt however will be charged to the hunter at the cost of replacement parts. Rusa Island Outfitters strongly encourages using the provided lodge rifles to avoid the hassles of bringing personal firearms, which can severely complicate travel and airport connection options, as well as hinder pre-post hunt island vacationing plans, as well as limit hunting areas, in addition to the regular risk of loss, theft or damage.
Equipment list
Basics items
-Lightweight day pack,
-10x binoculars and a rangefinder
-Comfortable walking/hiking boots & sandals for camp
-Layered (wetland/prairie/grassland) camouflage patterns (thin pants, shirts, sweaters)
-Wind/Rain Jacket
-Headlamp
-Small skinning and caping knives
-European electrical double-adaptors
-Polarized sunglasses
-Digital camera
specialized items
-Mobile, mid-range spotting scopes & tripods (to actively participate in the judging process)
-Snorkeling gear; mask, snorkel, flippers, wetsuit, reef shoes or gloves (to take full advantage of the reef)
trophy transport items
-1 sq./feet of bubble wrap per stag
-3 feet of old garden hose (for antler points) per stag
-1 breathable pillowcase & heavy clear plastic bag per stag/cape
-1 roll of duct/packing tape
Export
Import
There are no taxidermists in New Caledonia, and thus no option to leave Rusa capes & skulls on the island if you wish to keep them. Rusa trophies must return home with the hunters. A simple process greatly reducing shipping charges. Rusa are not listed under CITES and the process is hassle-free.
To leave the country – be accepted on airlines as checked baggage – and enter your home country, Rusa trophies must meet the following 4 requirements:
1. Antlers, skull caps & capes must be free of all meat/tissue and be treated with bleach or salt.
Rusa Island Outfitters will fully prepare Rusa trophies for transport. Antlers will be washed, skull caps boiled, cleaned, and treated, and capes will be turned, salted, and dried, meeting all export/import requirements.
2. Antlers and Capes must be adequality packaged for transport
To package Rusa trophies for transport, each Rusa will be labelled and prepped for packaging. To ensure hunters meet airline requirements, each hunter must bring the trophy transport items (bubble wrap, garden hose, pillowcases and a heavy clear plastic bag for each Rusa) as detailed above.
