My wife and I will be visiting the South Island this coming April. I have a Red Deer hunt planned and have thoughts of a possible Tahr hunt as well. I'm not sure about hunting Tahr in mid-April, as I really want one with a light color mane. I have read conflicting things and had guides tell me different things about light color manes this time of year.

The other option would be to delay the Tahr hunt to late May or early June in a couple of years and take the wife on a ski vacation after the hunt.

The only time the wife has even hinted that she would like a life size trophy of any kind in the house, is a Tahr. So, that is the basis for my wanting a light mane.

Thoughts? I would be hunting with Mike Freeman of Kiwi Safais on a foot hunt (no choppers!).

I have not hunted with Mike Freeman but have never heard anything bad about him or Kiwi safaris

Two other outfitters post here, Highlander and NZtrackers.

hi lundboat not sure if you have saw the story i posted here https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5621043/m/503108994

you could get a good cape in april but you will have a lot better chance of getting a better cape in may

i have always hunted thar in may at the peck of the rut

2 of the bulls in my story had the lite coloured capes but i perfer the colour of my bull in the last photo with the blond tips

good luck with your hunt

Later in the season is better for lighter (Blonde) manes. April capes are seldom real good, however a lot of hunters take them in March April to combine with Deer rut.
To get the best out of the two species, hunt them at different times. July-August-September is the best time for good full blonde manes in Tahr. Right now they are near perfect, was glassing some big bulls in the headwaters of the Rangitata River yesterday. They look great.

TrackersNZ, whats the access and snow conditions like.

Has a lot of the heavy June snow melted.

There is always a dilemia to face with tahr hunting as to when is the best time. Firstly you have to focus on a tahr trophy as 2 things, 1, the hunt and size of the horns and 2, the mane- both from length and colour.
The best time to hunt tahr on foot is March April and early May(in my oppinion), why? because the Bulls are still in there batchler groups lower down the mountains and the weather and daylight hrs are better. More Bulls to choose from and less eyes watching you.A bull tahr isn't the smartest cookie in the jar! his girlfriends on the other hand have typical female survival instincts.
Now if you are dead set on a blond tip or full blond mane you need to hunt in late May, June or July. Its full rut and full winter, less daylight, more females around and sometimes less than favourable weather. You can however always source winter capes from outfitters and taxidermists. Spring can work(August Sept) but to be honest, I'm to tired to hunt by then and not a great fan of soft snow.
The daylight thing relates to the time you have as a hunter have to safely get up and down the mountain and enjoy the hunt. Winter daylight is 8am -4.30pm and i am not interested in having a hunter on the steep after 4pm, its OK for me but !!!
Its not an easy choice to make especially if you are thinking of combining stag and tahr.You may be right to consider a second trip at a later date.
If your fit, well equipped and well guided there is nothing better than a winter hunt, but i caution anybody wanting to undertake a free range fair chase hunt on foot to be in good shape. Very do able and an unforgettable hunt. One of those deals where you'll have to make your own decision based somewhat on what you glean from here and other sources but mainly from being honerst with your expectations and conveying that to Mike or whom every you hunt with. You'll enjoy the hunting down here. Good luck.

Guys, thanks for all the good info. This will be something I need to think about for a little while. Mike has shown me some pics of Tahr taken in April and many of them had very nice manes on them. On the other hand, I have seen some very nice ones taken in May.....

To smudge:
Most of the snow has melted back. Up the Rangitata, most of the north facing slopes (Where most Tahr live) were clear of snow. Access up was no problem, we stayed up at Curtis Memorial Hut, saw 12 bulls in a day and half hunting/glassing. Put in a big climb/stalk but got thwarted by a helicoptor buzzing us as we closed in on a nice big bull...bugger
That was up in St Winifred's Stream.
Not many hunters about.