NZ 2016- '180 degrees'. tahr, trials and tribulations

[ozy clint]

this year myself and mark pitts once again allowed ourselves to be lured to the southern alps in search of tahr and adventure.
it turned out to be an uncanny trip in many ways with weather and bad luck conspiring against us.

the weather forecast for westland looked terrible but we decided against our better judgement to drive over to the valley we were going to hunt but the river was in flood and we would never have got past the first side creek and it was meant to continue raining for the next 5 days. it takes us 2.5 days each way to the hunt area so it wasn't an option to wait it out since that would leave us with zero time to allow for poor weather if we did get in there. realising our mistake in wasting time driving to the west coast we were left with no option but to drive around to the east coast and hope to find somewhere to spend 12 days.

(for the benefit of those who don't know what the weather is like on the western side of the NZ south island and how the alps effect the weather it can be compared to the pacific north west and SE alaska. westerly weather comes in from the coast and when it hits the mountains it rises up, condenses and falls as rain and snow...lots of it. however the mountains form a huge barrier for that moisture, alot of it doesn't make it over the divide between western and eastern drainages causing a profound rain shadow on the eastern side where it is generally alot drier)

so we were forced to turn '180 degrees' and hunt the east. we were both disappointed and excited. disappointed in that we wouldn't be able to have a look at some new areas we had been planning to go to but excited in that we would be hunting somewhere in the east which would be completely new to us.

so the next day we drove to wanaka and updated our hunting permits at the DOC (dept. of conservation) office. we needed to add potential areas in the east to our permit. after getting some info there we drove to twizel for some more local knowledge on hunting in the region. they were most helpful in suggesting where to go, so armed with some info and new maps we drove off and camped at the trail head ready for an early start the next day.

[ozy clint]

packing the packs for a 12 day hunt-
   
   

not long after this photo was taken mark went to lie down in bed because he was sick. i was packing by pack when the ground shook beneath me. it took me a moment to register what was going on. then i realised this was a earth tremor. (christchurch has been having tremor ever since the bad earthquake in 2011) it only lasted a few seconds and was enough to wake mark up thinking i was shaking the bed. it marked the first unusual event for the trip.
   

upon arrival at the trail head of the west coast valley we intended to hunt we were greeted by a flooding river. we took this as a sign that the mountains wanted time to themselves this year.
   

[ozy clint]

we camped in a DOC reserve near a trail head and got going the next morning. the weather was a bit better as could be expected on the eastern side of divide but we still got rain for a couple days at times.
 
 
 
 

[memo]

I look forward to reading these stories every year Clint. Planning the same for next year and hope yourself and Mark have some luck.
Memo

[bucknut]

Looks Absolutely Beautiful.

[BMN]

[ron w]

Cool stuff as always.......      

[Roadkill]

Aliens permits available?  I would love to trek that terrain with bow in hand

[Roadkill]

Aliens permits available?  I would love to trek that terrain with bow in hand

[twitchstick]

   

[23feetupandhappy]

[cacciatore]

Great stuff,I can't wait for the rest of the story.

[ozy clint]

roadkill- ANYONE can get a permit to hunt public land in NZ. it is free and instant. you could have a permit in the next 5 minutes. it's all on the department of conservation NZ website.
non resident aliens included (me). no draws, no tags, no seasons. the only limits......are your own! no once in a lifetime hunts. hunt when and as often as you please.

ever wanted to hunt Mt goat or sheep? watched your youth fade away while waiting for a draw? haven't got $20-40K? NZ is the place for you. anyone can take up the opportunity to hunt tahr, chamois, red stag etc, etc. it is one of the world's great mountain hunts and it can be all DIY on your terms (that is what makes it such a unique and appealing opportunity), no guide holding your hand.
think of it as mt goat or sheep hunt for alot less dollars and whenever you want.

more to come soon everyone

[ozy clint]

it started to rain after midday and we setup camp at 2pm. it was fine in the morning but the overnight wind had not given up. we glassed till lunch time when the rain returned. we saw a nice bull above camp and decided to climb up after him the next day but the rain had other plans. it continued all night and into the late afternoon of the next day. this gave us plenty of time in my new tent.

there was a 24F degree frost overnight and the weather was fine. we started glassing from camp again when a helicopter flew up the valley and proceeded to haze every face in the catchment. we recognised it as a local tourist glacier flight operator but figured DOC must have been counting tahr or something. there would be no other reason for it to fly so close to the faces. after it left we went for a walk but began to notice regular chopper flights high over the valley and we realised that we were under a flight path for tourist flights. after the hazing of the first chopper everything went to ground and with the regular fly overs we soon came to the conclusion that we were wasting our time there.
we walked back out to the car, drove to town again, had a burger and chips then went back to the DOC office for advice on plan C.
with another valley picked out we drove to the trail head and camped in another DOC reserve ready to walk in again the next day.

     
     
     
     
     
     

more on the chopper hazing later. upon returning back to australia there was a stunning revelation about it......

[ozy clint]

the walk out was pleasant enough. the creek we descended would best be described as an escalator compared to what we are familiar with in westland. we over budgeted the time to walk out by several hours. when you see the same distance on the map in westland you allow half a day for it. we were at the car in 2 hours!
 

after driving to town and back out to another trail head we camped in a DOC reserve for the night. marks kifaru supertarp notched up another night in NZ, this time on the banks of a lake gouged by glaciers in the last ice age.
 
 

[ozy clint]

so next day we walked into another valley.
     

     
photo by mark.

next day we spotted some tahr above camp and decided to head up towards them.
   

mark takes a breather-
     

     
     

camp is down near the creek on the edge of the shadow.
     
     
photo by mark.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Good stuff Clint, Keep it coming!      

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Looks awesome, mate!

[Warden609]

Great story.    

[Car54]

Boy do y'all know how to live!!!
Great pics, & great story!