Hapuku Chamois Hunting (2019)

The West Coast weather started to pack in and so with a few days left after our tahr hunt, Haas and I decided to go after chamois on the east coast near Kaikoura, where the weather forecast was sunny & calm for the next three days. 

Afternoon hunt

Still sporting sore knees and ankles from the rigours of tahr hunting we decided on a leisurely stroll up a gently inclining creek bed.  The creek opens up into a basin surrounded by slips and Mike spotted a chamois in the NW corner travelling SW that quickly went out of view onto the ridge.  We went into Stalk Mode and snuck forwards quietly for a few minutes, Mike with gun in hand ready for Anything To Happen.  The chamois suddenly reappeared on the top of the ridge to our west, and started running down towards us!  It crossed the basin floor ten metres ahead of us and then started up the other side.  Haas made whistling chamois-like noises and it stopped a quarter of the way up to work out what was going on.  Mike took a standing shot and nailed it through the heart at a distance of about 20m.  His scope was still set at 12x so it was a matter of filling the scope's viewfinder with fur and pulling the trigger.

Mike with his chamois

We could hear some real chamois whistling so we rushed up onto the ridge to look for more.  Haas spotted some in the NW direction that he noted for the next day's hunt, while Mike went down to start skinning his animal.  

A ridgeline Haas

We made it back to camp just on dark and enjoyed whiskey, fillet steak and spicy noodles by the camp fire.

Chillaxing by the fire

Morning hunt

The next morning we set off reasonably early to chase the chamois in the NW direction that had been spotted the previous day.  We took the ridgeline route, which started with a wicked climb up through the scrub that was near vertical at times.  Tussock, Horrid Spaniard, Mountain Snowberry and rocks provided the handholds and footholds needed to ascend a hard won 150m that got us onto the ridge.  

The ridgeline, looking back towards Kaikoura

Looking up the ridge...

Ascending the ridge was then a pleasant stroll interspersed with some crawling / traversing below the lip in order to avoid being seen.  When we got to the local peak we spotted a number of chamois on the steep terrain across the other sides of the gully.

We first saw a female with two kids in the N direction, and then as we crept forward another three on the ridge to the NW.  Tom lined one up and waited patiently for it to be on our side of the ridge so that, all going well, it would fall into a retrievable position if he got it.  

Waiting for the right moment...

The stars aligned as such a few minutes later and Tom took out his target with a heart shot at 250m.  It tumbled down the rocks and snow into a spot that we could get to safely.

Haas with chamois #2

After skinning this animal and taking meat we decided to try our luck descending the gully on the west side of the ridge we had been on.  The terrain was dominated by fresh slips that were obviously quake-related, as well as some large scree slopes.  There is a tight bit of the gully with a waterfall that is impassable, so we climbed up the ridge and descended the same way we'd come through the scrub.

And that's it!

Our objectives achieved, we asked the chopper to come and collect us the next morning and spent a couple of days in Kaikoura reacclimatising to civilisation (drying out tents/sleeping backs, doing washing, eating fruit & veg).  Chamois hunting in Kaikoura is a good alternative to keep in the back pocket in case the West Coast weather is not hunting-friendly.  And, Kaikoura is a top spot generally having the best of the mountains, rivers and sea all at its doorstep.  Our thoughts and prayers to all those affected by the quake, and it is heart warming to see how the city has recovered and is thriving as a fantastic destination for both domestic and international travellers.

Mike looking back at the mountains he'd just been in, from the quake-raised seabed in front of the Pier Hotel.

P.S. I'd never shoot chamois in France or any of their other natural habitats.  Alongside deer and tahr, chamois were introduced to New Zealand by the colonists and the potentially devastating effect that they can have on the native flora and fauna leads them to be categorised as 'pests' by the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC).  Outright eradication is prohibitively expensive and so the route taken by DOC is to keep the numbers under control through a combination of recreational hunting and helicopter-based culling.  More information can be found here on the DOC website. 

Shelter Hollow Tahr Hunting Tips (2019, high snow line)

Having previously had success hunting Arbor Rift and Bubble Creek, we descended on Shelter Hollow in May of 2019 with high hopes that were quickly brought down to earth when we saw how high the snow line was (about 1800-1900m).  This article will hopefully serve as useful to any future hunters in this block, particularly if they encounter similar conditions.

An early morning view up shelter hollow towards the distant snow line

This map shows where bulls were spotted (blue = ridge-line, green = scrub). The coloured routes are explained below

Baffle Ravine (purple route)

From camp our most commonly trodden path was up and down the slip to the north of the creek and onto the animals around Baffle Ravine.  There is a heavily used game trail along the top of the slip.  If the snow was lower, it's conceivable that you could get onto tahr going in and out of the bush along this trail within ten minutes of camp.  That said, a previous hunter appears to have done a dump right ON the game trail, evidenced by non-biodegradable wipes left behind.  Asides from being environmentally unthoughtful, it's possible that a massive turd on the doorstep of the animals may have spooked them a little bit.  We didn't see any tahr here, but saw and got a couple around Baffle Ravine.

Grant, Pete and Haas glassing distant tahr above Baffle Ravine

Grant headed up Baffle Ravine on the second day and the morning was ruined by a chopper passing overhead just as he reached the tops.  No tahr seen on the ridge so Grant spent six hours "staking out" the ridge (sunbathing and snoozing) until animals started moving and coming down the hill.  He saw a bull and 2 nannies just on 4pm and got the bull with a 450m shot!

Grant with tahr taken at 450m with 300 Winchester Magnum

Upriver (brown dashed route)

Two of our party separately explored the upriver route and both got so frustrated clambering over icy boulders and having to duck in and out of the bush to get past impassable bits, that they both climbed up Baffle Ravine and came back down the slip rather than face the river route again.   Not recommended.  Pete took this route on Thursday and got a bull and two nannies.

Grant took this route and saw two nannies in scrub that vanished only to pop out later when he was higher up the creek.  Top of Baffle Ravine was very hot and sunny on this day - Grant saw two bulls high up and their five nannies moving down.  He hid till they all got to 200m then nailed the bull and three nannies.  

Great shot of the Landsborough by Grant from high altitude

Arthur Glacier (red route)

Ascending the forest in the middle of the fork is extremely challenging initially as you bash through the young trees at the fringes (red star on map).  Once you're through that the forest reveals a fairly accessible game trail that also sports the odd trail marker.  Apart from one dicey part where you have to swing from tree trunks over a part of the track that has slipped away, it's actually quite accessible.  Once above the forest you have a view of a massive face full of tahr sign, which is where two scrub bulls were surprised and not shot at.  Haas and Mike did a stake-out one evening however no animals came out that time, possibly because of a helicopter that went overhead just as we were getting into the zone.

View south from top of bush above fork, towards Arthur Glacier

Haas in full stake-out mode

View down from the stake-out position.. tahr hunting is not for people who suffer vertigo

Notes on the campsite 

The campsite is however very pleasant, with no less than four flat spots amongst the trees where tents can be pitched, and one large flat spot just outside the bush where a large tent can be pitched.  There are two stone fireplaces, and the site gets sun for most of the morning.  THAT SAID in wet weather it looks like a stream may flow through most of the sites in the forest.

Pete enjoying R&R at the campsite

The awesome Arctic Oven tent

Everyone super cosy and warm playing 500 in the Arctic Oven tent

Mike's tent tucked amongst the trees, stream channel in foreground...

Pete, Haas, Mike and Grant