It's all about the lifestyle.

Check out @Muzz308 on YouTube and you’ll see pretty quickly where Josh Murray likes to spend his spare time – in the great outdoors. Normally with a rifle slung over one shoulder in pursuit of dinner, but any time spent in the wilderness is time well spent according to Muzz.

Growing up, he loved his school holidays spent shooting slug guns and .22s with cousins, which quickly moved into small game shooting. After joining the Army Cadets at 13, it was a pretty logical jump for him to join the military after school and he was initially posted to Linton, Manawatū.

But, after spending more than a decade serving in the New Zealand Defence Force and being posted across the country, it was family that brought Muzz and wife Kim back to Manawatū.

“Swapping city life in Auckland for the open spaces of Manawatū gave me the scope to step away from the army and get started in farming – it’s a region that offered opportunity, support, and some of the best farming country in New Zealand.”

The benefits of the move became apparent very quickly for the couple.

"One of our first trips back into Feilding we realised a lot of the benefits about living in the region. Within 20 minutes we had gone to town, done all our errands and were heading home again – we couldn’t believe it! After ten years of fighting the traffic, it just wasn’t an issue anymore. The move has been great for our lifestyle.”

Having now been back for close to 11 years, Muzz is proud to say he lives in Manawatū.

“I now get offended when I hear people bag the Manawatū actually. Because there are so many benefits to living here! My mum's a shocker for it – she loves to tell me how cold it is here, but only visits in the winter!”

The truth is that Muzz likes the ease of living in Manawatū. He has time for passion projects and particularly likes the location for getting outdoors.

"From here, there are so many ways you can go! You can head out towards Whanganui, or the Ruahine Ranges, or south to the Tararuas, there's lots of options even if you don’t have private land access. Most people hunting public land will hunt it for a few years before they start to see real success, it often takes time and learning before you are consistently coming away with something, but when you do it is very satisfying.”

“I often end up in the Pohangina Valley or a little further north where there is good public access to the Ruahine Forest Park. From Pedersons Road end, it is a short walk to Alice Nash Memorial Lodge and from there by following the Oroua River you open up a lot of country.”

Farming, Fencing and Firearms.

After being out of the military for a few years, Muzz came across a part time role with the Mountain Safety Council, which combined his passions and skills, plus the hours complimented working on the farm. 

"Adult education was an important skill in the Army, I knew I could instruct, and I was competent with firearms – it was the perfect fit. Living in the Manawatū has allowed me to build a lifestyle around my interests and I have tried to make the most of that.” 

Mighty Manawatū.

The ease of living in Manawatū has meant Muzz has time to manage his various jobs and still have time to get out and about. Plus, the unique location of our region means we’re on the doorstep to some great hunting spots. 

“My local haunt is the southern Ruahine Ranges. We’ve got some really good access to public land in the region and it’s not just deer; we’ve got an awesome game bird scene. We have a healthy waterfowl population thanks to the dairy farmers and good rivers for it.” 

“Look at the Oroua River for example. You’ve got trout, pheasants, ducks and as you move into the headwaters of the Oroua you’ve got access to walk into huts or walk all the way to the tops for stunning views from Taranaki to Napier.” 

Muzz enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with others, often guiding people on their hunts and providing advice to newbies.  

“It can be a bit of pressure taking people out – most of us are time poor so you want to make sure you get something – but at the end of the day being outside with mates is always good.” 

New challenges.

Nowadays, on farm Muzz has transitioned from dairy grazers to beef. Changing the system has freed up time to enable him to take on a full-time, off-farm role as the North Island territory manager for SWAZI. Although selling is a new challenge for Muzz, he is enjoying spending time talking about one of his favourite things – hunting!  

“I travel a lot to visit our stockists, which again makes where I live a good thing as it is easy to access the rest of the North Island. It’s different to anything I have done before but it’s great meeting new people and supporting my favorite New Zealand hunting brand.” 

For hunting tips, tricks, and firsthand advice straight from Josh's experience in the field, read more here >>