The Lure Of Tahr
IT took me a while to figure out the attraction of tahr hunting. Why were hunters so keen on chasing them? After all, they have neither long, impressive horns nor a beautifully-patterned hide. In New Zealand they weren’t rare, and furthermore, they inhabit inhospitable places that are difficult to hunt. That all taken into account, why were they regarded as one of the premier game species of the South Pacific?
I made my first NZ expedition in pursuit of tahr in December 2007. Our expectations were modest, reflecting our novice status and limited budgets. The cost of a guided tahr hunt for a mature bull could easily run into thousands of dollars. That’s great for well-heeled American hunters, but well beyond our means and aspirations. Further, we preferred to be ‘lightly guided’ rather than waited-on hand and foot. Our goal was to learn the ropes from an old hand, then develop our own skills and knowledge.
The grazier near Geraldine had tahr on his expansive property, which rose up to towering, rocky crags and backed onto vast mountain wilderness areas administered by the NZ Department of
