Anyone interested in hunting Himalayan tahr in NZ this June?

My hunt partner has gone in the knee and can't make it, so there's a place in the chopper/on the hill for someone who can kit up quick. As backpack hunters, you guys are the only AR group likely to be fit enough or have the lightweight gear needed.

The history of the project can be found at top of the AR 'Australian and New Zealand Hunting' forum but the basics are as follows:

The tahr is a Himalayan goat, rare in it's home range and wary in NZ. The horns only grow to about 13 inches but the winter coat is spectacular, which is why I'm going in June. They live in the high mountains around Mt Cook and are generally hard to approach. The hard climbing and wariness makes them arguably NZ's premium game trophy.

We fly into Christchurch or (better) Auckland about 31 May to buy food, (cross to the South Island by ferry?) and travel down to the West Coast for chopper lift on Sat 4 June; our Kiwi amateur guide has hunted successfully there and will show us the ropes but not spoon-feed us. We will come out between 10 and 14 June depending on weather and time needed to get animals.

In return for our 'guide's assistance, we will pay his travel costs from the North Island and his share of the best-priced chopper charter - but will use his vehicle instead of hiring one. This might all add $NZ700 to your own share, possibly less (and I will negotiate if this is a problem).

At this late stage, you would pretty much need to have a light-weight kit and rifle (.25/06 or better) already. We will spend some time in a hut but expect to march about three hours to a tent camp later, so cut-down toothbrushes will be the way to go. The chopper has limited weight capacity, too, so even gear taken to the hut will need to be light.

Glad to answer any questions here but PM me soon if you are really interested.

- Paul