Thread: Planning Tahr / Chamois Hunt in January

I am finally heading to NZ from Canada for after getting all my paperwork approved for a self guided hunting trip at the end of January. I am now trying to narrow down a few options for hiking in.

I am targeting Tahr or Chamois and will be travelling to the South Island and hunting the Canterbury region for 6 days. I will then be spending 7 days road tripping around the South Island. I am doing a backpacking style hunt and the current plan is to head up Mt Cook road and access via the various streams (Hoop Horn stream, etc) or head up past Tasman lake and hike in. I know there may be an option to take a boat across Tasman lake, which has many Tahr sightings according to DOC data, but the service has not responded yet.

I was wondering if anything I have looked into is a solid idea and if anyone has any tips for a general strategy for selecting potential spots. Should I also consider a different area entirely? Is it worth it to contact the DOC to gather more information?

Thanks