44 South — Mid Southern Tracks

Mid Southern Tracks Ltd — operating as 44south — is Walter and Zita Speck's Lake Tekapo-based hunting and nature tourism operation in the heart of the Mackenzie Basin. Walter runs free-range, fair-chase hunts in the Mount Cook Region for red deer, tahr and chamois, using Lake Tekapo as a base for access to the Two Thumb Range and the southern end of the Southern Alps. The operation also offers personalised nature tours through the Southern Alps high country for non-hunting travellers.

Lake Tekapo's position — at latitude 44 degrees south, the operational inspiration for the brand name — places the business in some of New Zealand's most striking landscape, with the turquoise lake, Mt Cook views and internationally dark skies making it one of the country's most photographed locations. Walter and Zita frame their offering explicitly as "the ultimate holiday down under," blending genuine wilderness hunting with the broader New Zealand experience.

The accommodation in Lake Tekapo town means hunters can combine an alpine big-game hunt with the broader Mackenzie Basin experience: Aoraki/Mt Cook, the observatory, the Church of the Good Shepherd. For hunters travelling with partners who aren't interested in hunting, the Lake Tekapo base offers genuinely excellent alternatives within walking distance.