NZ backpack hunt for tahr and chamois. take 2

[ozy clint]

gday folks,
myself and two buddies, paul rea and mark pitts just got back from a walk in and out tahr and chamois hunt on the west coast of the south island of NZ.
WOW, we had a great time. it was 100% better than last years trip. we went to the same catchment but hunted a different range than last year. saw heaps of chamois but not so many tahr. they were further along the range. however we still saw some and i made a couple of stalks and got to within 20 yards both times. story later. overall weather was good. got fogged out few days and a couple of days of snow and rain.
we are yet to swap pics via sending each other CD's of burnt pics. when i get them i will post some up. paul and mark might chime in too with their own stories.

may i start with just one picture.
it says a thousand words..........

[cacciatore]

Clint I can't wait!

WOW!....WHAT A PICTURE...!

[David Mitchell]

Yes it does!  

[Ben Maher]

Awesome mate ... can't wait for pics eh !

I am going Sth Island on Saturday for a walk and hopefully drop this string ...

And hurry up with them pics brother !!!

[Shedrock]

Great pic, can't wait for more!

[slivrslingr]

This one's worth waiting for!  Stay tuned.  

[Frenchymanny]

Wow! Double wow!
Cool picture

F-Manny

[karrow]

AND...    ...

[Duker]

Can't wait for the rest of the story  

[straitera]

Way to go Clint! You're hunt expeditions are becoming favorites.

[ozy clint]

last year we walked along a trail by the river but this year we headed up a side creek to get to the tops. it took us 2.5 days to get to the bushline and start hunting proper. we saw chamois in the creek but it isn't very trad friendly sort of hunting. the bush is super thick and the terrain in the creek is boulders and boulders. rifle and wheel bow guys hunt successfully in the creeks but you only see fleeting glimpses of chamois usually so it makes it hard for us.
this is us ready to roll. the destination is the background. from left- myself, mark and paul. some of these pics are theirs so credit goes to them also for the pics.
 
 
which way? up. LOL
 
this is the creek we walked up. lots of boulder hopping and scrambling. it's way steeper than it appears.
   
 
 
 
 

[ozy clint]

some of the chamois we saw in the creek on the way up the mountain.
 
 

here's another pic i like. it was a clear moonlit night on the 2nd night. i played around with the time exposure function. this is a 5 minute exposure, no flash.
 
 
 
we made camp in the tussock at the end of the 3rd day. a quick peek over the ridge behind camp revealed a nice bowl. who should be there.... mr bull tahr, catching some rays before the fog rolled in.
 

returning to camp after a days hike to some tahr. got to within 20 yards of a mob of 6 nannies and one good mature bull. getting a shot proved unfruitfull. my only cover was a knife edge ridge. i was stuck behind it at 20 yards. the only way to get a shot was to pop up from behind a boulder, totally skylined. they were either going to stand there for a second and let me shoot or flee.......they fled. it was an awesome experience. the terrain as usuall proved to be the hard part. getting close wasn't the problem if the topography allowed. once you were close enough it often worked against you. getting into an undetected shooting position with a stickbow in this kind of terrain is often impossible. but if you keep putting yourself into the right places at some stage the planets will come into alignment. determination and persistance...........
 

 


it's my bed time now so this lot of pics will have to do for now. later......

[Killdeer]

[rastaman]

Awesome pictures of a great adventure so far! Can't wait for more!

[KentuckyTJ]

What a great hunt!

[Ben Maher]

brilliant stuff mate !

[RUSTY1]

I spent a deployment in Christchurch for 6 mo. when I was in the Navy. I didn't get to hunt but during Christmas break we drove south then cut over to the west coast and came back up to Christchurch. BEAUTIFUL country!! That pic of the suspension bridge over that river reminds me of our trip where we stopped to go bungy jumping. Thank god they were closed because of the holiday!! We walked out onto the bridge and I looked down and thought "Yeah, this would not have happened!!!"   :eek:

[DesertDude]

Way cool......

[rushlush]

Great pics and story ! Cant wait for the rest of it.