wild guide abroad: maui bound
Maui is an easy sell. No matter how you
spin it, this island offers a chance to vacation
and hunt in one of the most beautiful places
on earth. The biggest drawing card - its
easy to combine a family vacation with your
hunting adventures.
My wife, Heather, and I had been to the
island several times before. During each
visit, we discussed – with good intentions -
the possibility of hunting, but for one reason
or another, never made it happen. Last
summer that all changed as we scheduled a
family trip with our two daughters.
Pre-Trip Planning
Hunting is popular in Hawaii and several
outfitters operate on Maui. Just as we plan
for any trip, we had done our research.
Regular attendees at the Safari Club
International (SCI) conventions, we had
visited with Rodney, Dawn, and their lovely
daughters Amanda and Emily at their Maui
Hunting Safari booth. Warm and welcoming
folks, it was indeed a combination of their
personalities, the ground they hunt, and
the quality of their animals, that caught our
attention. When we decided to take a family
vacation, it took only a quick e-mail and
phone call to book our hunt.
When we first made our reservation,
timing was important. Our focus would be
on Spanish goat. While we wanted to hunt
axis deer as well, we could only fit in a one-
day hunt. We discussed the pros and cons
of coming earlier in the year, but couldn’t
make it work with the kids’ sport and school
schedules.
In the winter and springtime, the grassy
slopes can be lush green providing ample
food for grazing. In turn, the goats are
usually more dispersed at that time. With
the heat of summer and fall, the hillsides are
dry and the grasses bleached. At this time
the goats habitually migrate down from the
high country in the early mornings to water
and feed in the lowlands, then they return
to high ground during the waning hours of
daylight at the end of each day. Hunting
any time of the year is good, but we really
wanted to bow hunt, so it was particularly
appealing to consider this daily migration
in hopes of spotting and stalking a billy.
Likewise, we would be filming for Canadian
Outdoorsman TV, so the prospect of seeing
and filming lots of goats was attractive. And
so, late August it was.
As far as logistics go, we were coming
from Canada and hunting with bows. The
only real considerations were licensing and
travel with archery equipment. The state
of Hawaii requires that all visiting hunters
provide evidence that they have completed
a hunter safety or education course.
Depending on residency, out of state
hunters sometimes need to apply for a letter
of exemption from the State of Hawaii and
Maui is the perfect place to combine a family vacation
with a hunting getaway.
should allow ample time for this process.
Hunting permits (valid year-round from July
1 through June 30) would be purchased
from the Perreiras upon arrival.
History & Game
The islands have a long and interesting
wildlife history. All big game species are
introduced, most of which have become
well established over the last couple
centuries. Spanish goats were first brought
to Hawaii in the late 1700’s by explorers
Captain Cook and Captain Vancouver.
Roaming freely - often in large herds - the
feral goats now thrive, especially in areas
with steep mountainous cliffs and open
lava fields. Historical records indicate that
Maui’s wild pigs were brought by the first
Polynesian migrants. The first axis deer were
introduced to the islands in the 1800’s, but it
wasn’t’ until 1959 that they were brought to
Maui specifically. Since then, axis deer as
well, have become well established.
While tourists are usually more familiar
with the more populated shoreline areas
and well-traveled townsites like Lahaina,
Kihei, and Kahului, a short drive into the
high country through Makawao takes
you into the remote and rugged hillsides
of Haleakalā. For any hunter seeking a
semi-arid/tropical hunting adventure, the
Perreiras offer some of the finest hunts
available in the Hawaiian Islands. Providing
world-class gun and bow hunts they can
customize your package to meet your
needs. But here’s the really good news -
they boast a 99% success rate for goat and
deer, and 98% success on wild pig.
This ‘Hawaiian’ feral goat would rank very high in the SCI record books.
Wild Guide
. Winter 2018
14