Big Game Hunting New Zealand Jul/Aug 2015 | Page 60
N
HU
G
N
TI
South Westland
DOUBLE
Written by Nick Moss
Day One:
It was a surreal
feeling waking to the beautiful South
Westland scenery after a long night,
with 5 days to explore there was no
real hurry to hit the hills so we spent
time around the hut sorting wet gear
and watching heavy rain showers
come and go. The day wore on and
we managed to get out for a few hours
exploring. Tahr were spotted scattered
around the valley, the majority were
nannies and young, with the odd bull
up high in inaccessible areas. Typical
of tahr they began to move at around
4pm and by 6pm were generally down
a lot lower in feed country. This meant
if we decided to go after an animal,
early morning or late afternoon was
going to the best timing for the easiest
approach, easier on the lungs anyway.
“came around the
corner to see a
chamois doe and kid
departing at a high
rate of knots”
Day Two:
T
he weather was absolutely perfect as
we sat in Hokitika watching a few well
known hunters give it their all in the
annual Hokitika wood chopping competition,
however the dry spell was about to change.
As we discussed plans with a local he told us if
we didn’t get into the hills today we wouldn’t be
going! The walk in had us fording several side
creeks which are notorious for rising rapidly and
catching people out. So a rushed packing job
saw us in the car heading south immediately
then racing up a well known South Westland
valley on foot. We hadn’t made it far when the
60 BGHNZ Issue 7 Jul/Aug 2015
heavens opened drenching us from head to toe,
this seems to be a reoccurring event for me in
recent times and I seem to spending more time
wet than dry. Onwards we trekked negotiating
the first few crossings, however commonsense
was telling Tim and I that we were pushing our
luck and the worst was still to come. Darkness
was closing in and river levels were rising
quickly with each crossing becoming more
dodgy than the last. I think it’s fair to say we
were very relieved to make it to the hut around
midnight after a few hair raising river crossings I
would never like to repeat again.
www.bghnz.co.nz
An early start saw
us crossing the dew covered river
flats, which clearly outlined the animal
tracks from the night before. It wasn’t
long before we sat down and glassed
a loan bull across the main river
while behind us a number of nannies
and young animals were lingering
around on a near vertical rock face.
Glassing from the river didn’t last long
as the sand flies ran rampant and we
moved off. The plan was to climb up
a steep side creek, before hitting the
leading spur and following this to the
tops. Sneaking up the chosen creek
we came around the corner to see a
chamois doe and kid departing at a
high rate of knots.
www.bghnz.co.nz
61 BGHNZ Issue 7 Jul/Aug 2015