Estancia Santa Elena

Estancia Santa Elena is a destination that should not be overlooked. This beautiful Estancia sits on 70,000 acres in the western part of the country and has become the place clients return to for their annual Uruguayan Wingshooting trip. 

The Trip:  Each trip is for seven days and six nights with four days of hunting. The trip begins in Miami with a late evening departure and an overnight flight through Buenos Aries to Montevideo, Uruguay with possible direct service. Trek outfitter, Eduardo Gonzales will assist the groups through customs, transfer you to the lodge then have a quick hunt this afternoon. Our hunt headquarters will be the beautiful and historic Santa Elena Lodge. Everyone will have a single room. The next three days will be full hunting days. From May-July Perdiz season is open and the morning hunts will be spent hunting behind one of Eduardo’s Brittanys.  The afternoon dove shoot will be in one of the enormous roosts within 20-60 minutes of the lodge. The last day we will hunt the morning, have a big lunch and then travel back to Montevideo to catch our return flight back to the U.S.

 

The Accommodations: Estancia Santa Elena will compare to any lodge Trek has in Argentina. It is one of the most famous estancias in all of Uruguay, full of history and nostalgia of era long past. The lodge has 16 bedrooms that open up into the manicured courtyard and a swimming pool that is great after a long day in the dove field. In true Uruguayan fashion there a big outdoor barbecue area where the groups meet each night for happy hour. The lodge is very comfortable and quiet and offers a chance to relax and have privacy.

The Hunting:  The hunting in Uruguay is year round with high volume dove any time of the year and then three months of the popular Perdiz season from May-July. The Carmelo and Colonia areas are large agricultural areas with large tracts of sorghum and sunflower which draws the dove to this area and produces great fields for Perdiz to hide. On an average day you can expect to fire two to four cases of shells on dove.  Eduardo has 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge shells available along with firearms to rent.  We have all Eared Dove, which are almost identical to the U.S. Mourning Dove, but here they fly all day.  The upland bird, Perdiz, is a swift flying member of the Tinamou family and is mainly seen in singles with the occasional pair. Each day we will start with a full breakfast at the lodge, and then leave for the fields. On most days we will shoot all day with a big “Asado” or barbecue in the field. The asados feature steaks, chicken, lamb, salads, fruits and excellent local Uruguayan wines. After the asados, Eduardo will have hammocks or mattresses to take a quick siesta before heading back out and hunting the afternoons.