Tahr Country
This is the terrain I spent all afternoon (and into the late evening!) going up and down, chasing some Tahr. I started by climbing up to the top and then spotting the Tahr as tiny black dots way back down towards the bottom.

The creek bed I had intended on walking up to get to the next valley a few miles in was raging and impossible to safely cross.  I did witness (through my binoculars) a group trying ford the river and 3 of the 4 took a ride down the river a few hundred feet with there full packs on.  I later spoke with them and they changed their plans after that mishap, I imagine it scared them a bit. Every year people die here in NZ attempting to ford rivers that are in flood stage.  Most backcountry walks include fording streams or rivers and knowing the catchment area and recent/ predicted rainfall is important along with being able to spend an extra day or two waiting for a river to recede if you get to a river that is not safe to cross.

Me, thinking, “if I were a Tahr, where would I be”?

Tahr have a decent view, maybe tha’ts why they hang out up here.

I spotted some Tahr waaaaaaay down towards the bottom of one of these scree fields.  The chase begins…  But don’t slip, you wouldn’t stop until you splashed into the swollen river at the bottom!

Zoomed in with the camera, they are still just little specs on the hill side.

I think its the view they like,  they can see forever..

On the way down towards the group of Tahr I spotted I came upon another small group where I shot this Nanny.  I ended up shooting two Nannies in that group. The hardest part was butchering them on the mountain side without dropping either goat or myself down the mountain, and then carrying all that meat UP and over and back to my tent… I gets dark here around 9:30-10pm and got back just before dark, definitely the hardest I have ever worked for some meat.  I made sure to eat a little meat for dinner that night as a reward….I had already consumed my chocolate before dinner, but don’t tell my mom.