ABOUT BACKCOUNTRY NZ Backcountry New Zealand is committed to its clients, it is important that your experience in New Zealand is memorable and exceeds your expectations.We have been operating guiding services since 1990, and have been recreating and working in the New Zealand backcountry for as long as we can remember.Getting our clients into areas that are unique and far from the maddening crowds is an important focus for us.We are able to achieve this through our relationships with private landowners and knowledge of our local area.Our clients-to guide ratios are low so we can deliver a personalized, informative, and rewarding experience.All backcountry guides have extensive experience and qualifications.We focus on a low number of quality experiences for visitors to New Zealand, so we can maintain a high service level and get to know you as an individual.Meet the Backcountry New Zealand Team Backcountry New Zealand’s staff love the environments they live and work within.This page introduces you to the characters you will meet on your journey and adventure in New Zealand.Nigel Birt Nigel directs the hunting & fishing operations and established the Backcountry New Zealand brand in 1998.Nigel has worked in a number of luxury fishing lodges in the South Island of New Zealand since 1985 and has been fishing guiding for over 20 years.His love of hunting and fishing in the South Island of New Zealand shows through his desire to provide clients with an experience of a lifetime.Nigel will manage the organization of your hunt and stay in New Zealand, ensuring the quality of the experience.Nigel and wife Myriam own and operate Backcountry NZ Hunting and Fishing Guides.Lindsay Hayman (Legs) - Head Big Game Hunting Guide Lindsay has been a keen hunter since he was a young boy and an Alpine hunter since he was 18.With extensive hunting experience throughout the South Island and Stewart Island, Lindsay has brought a wealth of experience to the Backcountry team.Lindsay has spent his working life as a farm manager for a number of remote ranches and through this has developed some fantastic relationships and hunting opportunities on private properties.Lindsay is keen to share these opportunities and experiences with his clients.Phil Stephenson - Head Fly Fishing Guide - NZPFGA Head guide for Backcountry New Zealand Fishing Guides, Phil loves living and recreating in New Zealand's mountains.Phil's life revolves around trout streams and the snow-covered Alps.His knowledge of fishing and skiing, in combination with the local familiarity of weather, history, and biogeography enables him to deliver informative and rewarding experiences.Phil has professionally guided many happy Backcountry New Zealand’s clients in the Canterbury and West Coast regions since 1995.Donald Greig - Big Game Hunting Guide Donald is a New Zealand Legend in his own right.Respectably involved in New Zealand’s pioneering days of helicopter wild deer culling and live recovery, Donald has lived and breathed wild animals ever since.Having successfully guided thousands of clients onto ‘animals of a lifetime’, Donald is well respected globally as a top New Zealand hunting guide.Donald specializes in helicopter access free-range hunting and game estate hunts.We are pleased to have Donald accessible as an asset to the Backcountry New Zealand hunting guides team.John Leath - Big Game Hunting Guide John has been actively involved in New Zealand outdoors for the past 30 years.He has worked in ‘personal development training through outdoor experiential learning’ courses and as an instructor in kayaking, rock climbing, and mountain craft.Having transitioned these strong lives and outdoor skills into his love of hunting and guiding, John has a great ability to read people, their needs, and communicate clearly to achieve common goals.He has guided in Canada during the winter of 2008, extending his global hunting experience and networks.John developed his hunting guiding skills with a number of years in another hunting outfitting operator and we are pleased to have him join the Backcountry New Zealand hunting team.Neil Goldie - Fly Fishing Guide - NZPFGA Backcountry New Zealand’s salmon specialist! Many call him the ‘Salmon God’ and having fished for trout and salmon for 35 years throughout Canterbury and the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, Neil has an intimate knowledge of the rivers, streams, and lakes that are found in this region.His knowledge of the brown and rainbow trout fisheries on the South Island is impressive, to say the least! Myriam Birt Myriam assists in logistics around the hunting & fishing operations and adds all those special touches to your stay in New Zealand.Myriam also manages the financial elements of the company, and very much enjoys hosting visitors during their stay.As an experienced and certified Swiss ski instructor, Myriam is able to host non-hunting companions skiing or heli-skiing for those that wish to hunt during our winter months of June-August.