Your S² Guides
S² = Scotty, Shawna and the Sunnyside Station crew
Scotty and Shawna’s guiding careers have been intertwined with their relationship. They first met on the Delger Muron, a remote river in Western Mongolia over a decade ago. Shawna was guiding for a Taimen outfitter, running week long float-fishing trips as the expedition leader. Scotty was a client on one such trip! Romantic sparks flew and presented a fork in the road for both of them. Scotty decided to take some time off from his career as an aquatic ecologist and try his hand as a fishing and hunting guide, working alongside Shawna as she shifted from the Far East to the True North of Alaska. It was not intended to be a long term career change but it turned out that guiding was the job Scotty was born to do.
Their New Zealand based guiding operation has evolved considerably over the last 10 years after forming a partnership with the Greer Family at Sunnyside Station in the remote Fiordland Region of Aotearoa’s South Island. Bordered by the Waiau River and Fiordland’s vast wilderness, Sunnyside Station provides the ideal location to base S²’s float trips and fishing experiences. The station has a 4 bedroom farmhouse that has been upgraded to provide authentic farmstay lodging and several trophy hunting blocks are located on the more secluded parts of the station. Working alongside hunting guide and station owner Richard Greer opened up the opportunity to include exclusive hunting experiences for S²’s clients. This exciting development in the S² journey enabled us to become the only outfitter in the Fiordland Region offering all-inclusive fishing, drift boating/float trips and hunting packages from the one location. We look forward to showing you the S² experience in our little slice of paradise!
Read on to find out a bit more about Scotty, Shawna and Richard.
Scott Slater
Scotty has been tying flies and fly fishing since he was 8 years old; his passion for fooling fish on his own creations of feather and fur has only intensified with age over the last 34 years. His career as an aquatic ecologist gives Scotty a distinct advantage when it comes to understanding fish behaviour and their habitats. As a master fly tier, he’s also got some pretty unique fly patterns in the S² arsenal to help fool trout when the fish get finicky.
From beginners to advanced anglers, Scotty has the temperament and repertoire to cater to all skill levels. He is as much at home in the Fiordland wilderness as he is on the technical lowland streams of Southland or floating the big water of his home river.
Scotty guides to the conditions and the clients abilities. He believes that even when conditions are tough, there’s always an approach to help someone catch a fish if they are willing to think outside the box and give it a go.
A passionate hunter gatherer, Scotty also guides S²’s hunting trips and enjoys helping clients make safe and ethical harvests of their chosen quarry.
Shawna Stephens
She’s got a passion for wild places and being “on the sticks” of her boat on S² float trips. She’s the quintessential hostess and a talented guide with over a decade of experience guiding in some of the worlds most exotic locations. As a Fellow of The Academy of Wilderness Medicine, Nurse Practitioner, LandSAR trainer and outdoor emergency 1st aid instructor, she’ll keep you safe.
Between her many years of experience as an outdoor guide, private chef and nurse, Shawna brings a unique skill set to the S² experience that everyone finds infectious. Although she’d never admit it, she is very talented with a fly rod too!
Shawna guides and hosts part time for S² when she is not working as a Nurse Practitioner in the remote Southland community of Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Southland Hospital Emergency Department.
Richard Greer
Richard is S²’s head hunting guide with over twenty years hunting experience and a decade of guiding trophy hunts on the South Island. As the owner of the private hunting estates we operate on, he knows every inch of the hunting blocks like the back of his hand. Whether you are stalking a trophy stag of a lifetime or on your first free range harvest, Richard will show you an authentic and safe hunting experience.
Owning a Fiordland station bordered by 9kms of trout river has afforded Richard the opportunity to develop his growing passion for fly fishing, so he’ll often be found down by the river having a flick when he can sneak away. When he’s not guiding or working on the station, he enjoys sharing his extensive knowledge of the outdoors with his two boys, George and Griffin.
As a 5th generation “salt of the earth” Southlander, Richard has a well-earned reputation for being jovial, honest and unwaveringly positive in the face of adversity. On those tough days when most of us feel like giving up on the hunt and heading for the warmth of the fire, you can guarantee Richard will still be wearing a smile and be keen to press on.
Since 2011, Scotty and Shawna have guided together in some of the most exotic fishing locations around the world. Many adventures and fishy tales later, Scotty and Shawna remain focussed on creating authentic outdoor experiences for their clients and friends. S² is essentially the result of what happens when Scotty and Shawna’s collective expertise, passion and skills come together, to provide a truly unique and one of a kind experience for their clients.
