As countries go, New Zealand definitely punches above its weight class. Like, no matter how often mapmakers might snub the place, treating a sovereign nation of more than five million inhabitants as if it was nothing more than a forgotten annex of Australia, the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ seems to be a perennial favorite on travelers’ bucket lists.
And why shouldn’t it be? There’s literally tens of interesting places to visit throughout the country, from a defunct movie set to the corpse of a really, really big cephalopod. But for travelers of a certain age— specifically toddlers, kindergartners, and first grade students— the absolute crown jewel among all these attractions seems to be a deer farm in the middle of nowhere.
As with all of New Zealand’s ‘must-see destinations’, a journey to the Staglands Wildlife Reserve involves taking your life into your own hands with an hour-long drive through the middle of nowhere. The road less traveled is a perilous mountainside highway, one which inexplicably lacks either guardrails or painted lane markers. But don’t be bothered by the white-knuckle experience— once you arrive at your destination and pull off onto the poorly-marked side trail, all your efforts will be rewarded.
Staglands is one of the most unlikely tourist destinations in New Zealand— but after more than 50 years in business, nobody can argue against its success. The park’s founder, John Simister, developed a deep love for nature back in his childhood. Growing up in England, John would head off into the woods every chance he got, preferring the solitude of nature over the company of other humans. And then one day, at the ripe old age of 23, John and his new wife Carole made the decision to pull up stakes and set off for New Zealand, hoping to embrace a simpler lifestyle. The couple loaded their possessions into a beat-up camper van and charted a westward course, planning to set sail from India. And as if relocating to a Pacific island nation wasn’t a big enough adventure for them, the couple started their journey with a road trip across most of Europe and South-Central Asia… including lengthy stopovers in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan!
John and Carole’s initial business plan was practical— their intent was to find a small town and open a dairy, which in rural New Zealand is basically a general store, post office, and informal community center. But not long after the Simisters caught their first glimpse of the pristine backcountry bush, their vision expanded, and never stopped growing. The couple ultimately succumbed to the call of nature, expanding their small store with a meticulously landscape ‘secret garden’. This natural attraction was an instant hit in their rural community, and word quickly spread. Families from the nearby capital city of Wellington began loading their kids into the car and setting off on day trips into the backcountry.
Over the years, as Staglands continued to grow and expand, the Simisters carried on doing most of the construction work themselves. The initial deer pastures were quickly followed by pigpens for kune kune, a unique species thought to have been brought into New Zealand by the country’s very first Maori settlers.
A sprawling aviary came next, followed by a cafe and tearoom— all built by hand, using lumber that was harvested and cut on site. Though he wasn’t a trained craftsman, Simister quickly picked up the necessary skills. And decades later, in his memoirs, Sinister wrote that the local building inspectors initially refused to believe that he’d done the work himself!
Today, Staglands has a well-earned reputation for being New Zealand’s top day trip destination… for families with young children, at least. So if you ever find yourself out in this corner of the world, and happen to be dragging along a kid or two, then be sure to stop in for a few hours. Staglands is a place so nice I had to visit twice… and each time, I was too busy enjoying myself to take any photos. Thanks to the Staglands team for letting me borrow a few of theirs!