Im planning a trip to hunt Chamois and Tahr unguided next year.Just in the planning stages right now and looking for any tips or words of wisdom anyone might want to share. I will have a partner coming with me and we are looking at the month of June.
thanks

have you seen what the mountains on the south island look like?? i can assure you that they are more rugged than pictures show. how are you planning on getting up the etc. some times a guide is worth his weight in gold

I havent seen them in person, but For a little background: I have hunted in the Beartooth -Absaroka Wilderness in Montana and Alaska. I have spent alot of time hunting/backpacking and fishing in the Sierras. My partner has guided for goats in SE Alaska and Sheep in the Brooks Range. I know the Mountians are steep but I think if we get some good local intel and show up well prepared/outfitted it is a completely doable trip.
The plan would be to hike in, I have heard there are Huts in some areas you can get reservations for, similar to USFS cabins in the States.

a good level of fitness etc, could be a bit of snow around at that time and the West coast of the south island holds good numbers of Chami and Tahr, drop over to the fishnhunt.co.nz site and make a few contacts on the hunting forum.
They are always willing to help over seas guys with info and ocasionly a hunt

Gidday

How successful you are will depend on how prepared you are to challenge yourself both mentally and physically.

For most people who are active, the physical thing is straightforward – get fit and be prepared to push yourself, you will need to climb and spend long days doing it. I hunt Tahr and Chamois with guys into their 70’s and they often push me (I’m a young 52).

I find many hunters visiting here struggle mentally, our mountains require a different discipline than many overseas locations, and visitors need to put aside their ego’s and learn to become familiar with our terrain, weather and game.

I frequently offer to take visitors for a few days hunting, not as a guide but to start their acclimatisation process (and am happy to do the same for you – PM me).

If you want to go unguided be prepared to spend time, most people who die in our mountains (mostly by drowning, several each year, and it’s a small place) do so because they are in a hurry. Too big a hurry to study and really learn the conditions and techniques, too big a hurry to get to some other place.

Please come and enjoy our fantastic mountains and hunting, but take the time to do it properly, and keep yourself safe.


Foster

It all depends on which side of the Southern Alps you wish to hunt. The eastern side, South Canterbury/North Otago is easier with access by 4WD to many hunting areas and huts possible, weather dependent of course as there are usually some river crossings involved and there will be snow sometimes down to river level in June (middle of our winter). You will still require a reasonable level of fitness to climb out of the rivers and creeks although tahr and chamois can be found down in the side creeks of the major watersheds.

The West Coast of the Southern Alps is a different story altogether in winter or anytime of year for that matter. You cannot access any hunting blocks by vehicle and you would not access the hunting blocks by foot unless you were extremely fit and could carry your supplies on your back and even then there are only a few accessible by walking track with like a good long day for very fit hunters to get there. A chopper for both local hunters and visiting hunters is the only real option to get to the tahr and chamois areas and to get out again from the West Coast.
I lived much of my earlier life on the West Coast and the Alps were my playground.

Believe me I give you fair warning that the West Coast Southern Alps in winter are dangerous and forbidding and show no mercy to those unprepared or foolhardy. I have been told that 3000 feet, our winter snowline, in the Southern Alps of NZ is climatically equivalent to 10,000 feet in the Himalayas. Generally you need to be around 5000ft to get onto good tahr, chamois will come down lower and depending on the time of the year tahr will too but they really like the high up isolated areas of the mountains.

We had a 70 year old Alaskan with us on our tahr hunt last year who had spent a lifetime hunting in his own country but on arriving by chopper at our camp site and before it snowed, he commented he was out of his league in the sort of country we were in. My young extremely fit and experienced nephew got frost-bite in a couple of toes.

To discourage you completely here are a few photos from last year in the Southern Alps on the western side

Looking to the Alps main divide from our tahr camp


Our Alaskan friend with a young bull skin and head shot from camp


A long day and frost bitten toes to get one animal.


Me relaxing and readying for the day.


Looking back from camp to civilisation - only by chopper.


Getting set up for a long successful shot on tahr for our Alaskan friend.


The Grand Hotel - our camp for a week.


God good to see and get out to civilisation and warm up.

Sounds like it's doable for you. I've done it self guided and unguided, and have nothing substantial to add to the excellent advice already given by the NZ people.
Chances of taking animals are probably better with a guide, but that's not the whole story, is it Satisfaction and sense of adventure and achievement will surely be greater if you do it for yourself.

Thanks for the comments do far. A couple more questions

What is needed to bring a gun into the country?

Is it possible to find Chamois and Tahr in the same hunting block? or do you need to travel between areas?

Bringing a firearm into New Zealand is no problem just $25 for a visitors permit or you could buy a firearm once in country with visitors permit.
http://www.police.govt.nz/advi...e-and-import-permits

you will get them both in most areas probably better chance on the West Coast

West coast is the way to go. Ands its readily achievable. There are animals there for every ability level. Don't get caught in the trap of thinking you have to climb high just because you can see impressive looking bulls up in the high alpine. They are generally bulls in their prime, equivalent to a 20 year old human. Look good, but lacking substance and a bit dumbLacking experience. There are animals all along the bush edge and open streams. It just takes patience and persistence.have a hut as a base which you can get back too if weather packs in. June is rough many years. May is better. Feb is good if you know where to look and like warmer weather, but they are summer coated.

Shanks is correct in some respects but there is not much joy in taking a nice representative chamois buck or tahr bull with a summer coat, that doesn't really do justice to the beauty of these animals. As a local yes because you can always return later in winter an knock over a young buck or bull and get the full winter cape and skin to go with your good head. As a visitor on maybe a single trip of a lifetime you want the best chance of success in getting good animals.

If you are fit and prepared to sit out inclement West Coast weather then go for it. Depending on weather, April and May is usually too early for the good bull tahr to come down off the tops. You will see hundreds of nannies yearlings and younger bulls but often not the goodies. They appear in the rut and around the first snow falls in early June. Chamois are usually around everywhere, low and high so it is a matter of luck as to what you come across, but sometimes if the tahr population is high in an area you may not see the chamois much. Red deer also populate the same areas, high and low, but have their favourite little spots which may not be where you are hunting.

Below is a 14" huge bull shot around February a couple of years ago by my nephew, he has since shot another just for a winter cape for the head. Still very steep country he was hunting in an good fitness required. Choppered into a hut, just visible in the background right of the animals head on the bushy spur.


A shot of our 2012 tahr hunt area in late April, cold frosty nights but very hot days, hundreds of tahr about but no good bulls down, no chamois sighted, choppered into our balloted block and camped down on a nice sunny river flat, relatively easy hunting.

You have got plenty of great advise and offers of help.

I am no expert and I am 58 years old & not very fit. So here is my two bits worth.

* Get really fit
* August is also a great month with bulls lower down
* Remember that this is very rough country that is scaled down - I mean that our mountains are very wrinkled with many small creeks, gullies etc. Easy to miss a ridge & drop into the wrong watershed etc. I have trekked at 14,000 feet in the Himalayas & it was piece of cake. Here in NZ even 3000 feet mountains are very rough.
* Remember that you can have sunny warm days that cool down rapidly by 4 pm and you are in a death trap if you get stuck up on the mountain. Make sure you get down to camp on time.
* Dress in multiple layers - see earlier point above.
* Try and correspond with NZ Deerstalkers clubs in the region. Some one might help you. If you are lucky, some local might offer to hunt with you - http://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/

Good luck and be safe. This is beautiful hunting country.

Glean what you can out of all that has been said.
I'll had my 10c worth.
* Chopper in, it will allow you to have a better base set up. The cost of the chopper is insignificant to the total expense of the hunt.
* If you are able ,go in May, mid to late. Chamois are in the rut, Tahr are rutting, but be patient and wait for the BIG bulls to show late in the day.
*Find a local that can hunt with you.
* Talk with and DoC, Department of Conservation.
* take a Sat ph or rent a mountain radio from DoC .
* Plan every detail, every thing you need and can access in USA or Canada is not or may not be as accessible here in NZ. Figure out how to have everything and keep you weight below 23kg! (airline regs)
*contact a taxidermist/expeditor here in NZ.
*In your conversations with DoC find out exactly how our systems work in this country, it may seem uncomplicated and simple ..its not necessarily the case.

As a guide, I cant agree with what you are doing simply on principle, bit like me coming to SE Alaska to goat hunt DIY.
So be doubly careful.
There are only 2 things that will harm you in our mountains, the weather and your ability to assess the risks.
Good luck.
Local knowledge is invaluable, find it.