after a few days of exploring we found a good area which held good numbers.
paul had a stalk on a group but didn't have any luck and i left him to try again on them and moved along the ridge a bit. in a brief break in the fog i glassed a bachelor herd down a gully. i could see 4 bulls at first and was lucky enough to witness a fight between two of them before i set off down the steep slope towards them.
with the fog cover and some convieniently placed house sized boulders it was easy to get into about 35m of the closest bull. i watched him for about ten minutes and he wasn't moving into a better position for me so i figured i'd have to move around the boulder into the gully to get closer. a younger bull came into view now just when i didn't need more eyes, ears and noses. then more bulls appeared, they were everywhere. suddenly i was amongst the mother lode. i was high on the stink of tahr!
i was very carefully getting closer to the bull when the younger one caught my movement and bolted up out of the gully and whistled, stopping at about 30m. thinking it was over i decided to take the rushed shot at him as he was the only one i could see. not suprisingly it missed. then the bigger bull ran in front of me and stopped for a brief moment at close range. another 'quick, hurry up and shoot him before he's gone' shot and another arrow disappeared down the mountainside without doing any harm. i couldn't help but curse myself for blowing a golden chance at a trophy i've spent over 40 days over 4 years in the mountains trying to attain. 'never give in' is a good motto to follow though. as luck would have it they just joined the bulls in the group below them and started feeding again. i managed to get in on them again and ran out of cover at about 25 meters. i was perched on a ledge looking down at a mob of bulls numbering, on a rough count, about 12 animals.
this time the ball was in my court. i had time to shoot a proper shot. as i slowly stood up and peered over and got set, 3 bulls came into view on a small flat below me. i picked the closest one, which was quartering away (as if by some devine intervention) and went through my shot sequence. the arrow blew through him right where i where looking, though he did move slightly at the shot. still the intial reaction was- :eek: 'i just killed a tahr!' i firmly believed he'd soon be dead. at the shot tahr went everywhere but not real far. the bull disappeared behind a boulder and didn't come out the other side, that was a good sign i thought. then i could see the others close by looking in his direction and i took that as meaning he'd gone down or was acting oddly. i let 15 minutes go by and nothing walked out from behind that boulder and the others had calmed down again. i could have taken a shot at two other bulls but i dared not get greedy. after all the effort over the years one bull would be more than enough reward and i didn't want to cause any more chaos, lest it disturb the bull i shot, since i didn't know if he was dead yet.
time was getting away on me and by now it was late afternoon and camp was over an hours hike away. i had to push the other tahr away to go and see if my bull was down. with extreme caution i rounded the boulder.
, he wasn't where he should be! my heart sank. where could he have gone to. then i saw some fluffy hair in a small chasm a few meters further on. there he is!!
slowly i peered in there.....and what lay before me was the trophy of my dreams. 40 days in westland is what it took to get that tahr. blood, sweat and unashamedly, tears were shed in those days. i thanked him for the sport and sat for a brief moment as i reflected on what i'd been through in the pursuit of these mountain dwellers. on reflection, i realise now that the pursuit of this tahr and the chamois i was lucky enough to take a couple of years ago have taught me more about myself and my capabilties than i ever thought possible. it has tested me physically and emotionally and friendships have been forged through both shared hardships and triumphs. you'll never know what your capable of if you don't push your limits and get out of your comfort zone.
my long awaited bowhunting goal-
PR
Topic: NZ Tahr hunt 2014- Pilgrimage of Adventure. (Read 6287 times)
