SPORTSMEN’S SUCCESS

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 24 April 1935, Page 10

SPORTSMEN’S SUCCESS

WAPITI, DEER AND CHAMOIS TRIP TO SOUTHERN FOREST AREA SPLENDID HEADS SECURED.

Five of the 13 species of four-legged frame in New. Zealand —wapiti, red deer, fallow deer, tliar, and chamois—were shot by three Cjinstclnmdi men, Messrs. C. R. Hervey, A. J. White and D. L. Kemp, who returned to Christchurch from a 22-days’ trip which embraced the .southern direst country Central Otago, and the ranges of the Mount Cook legion. : Two wapiti heads were secured in the Glaisnock Valley. The red deer and fallow deer were shot in the itg--lin ton Valley and at. the Blue Mountains, Tapanui, respectively. One ct the thar heads obtained on the Ben Ohau Range, Mount Cook, was a loin, head which, it is believed, is only three-quarters of an inch short of the world record. Mr Hervey told a “Sun ’ reporter to-day that the conclusion he* had formed was that though wapiti had become established, they were not. numerous. There were .some good heads about, and beads that would improve. The Government intended to kill the wapiti, for the supposed reason of their increase—but because of the difficult nature of the country, among other factors, the beasts had neither increased nor spread to anything approaching the extent of ochei game animals imported into New Zealand. t It was the opinion of Mr James Muir, an acknowledged, authority, that in the Glaisnock Valley, which was 12 miles long, there would not be 100 animals at any one time. This opinion was supported by evidence such as the nature and type of the trail which the wapiti made, by tree-rubbings, and so on. Mr Hervey and his companions went from Christchurch to Lake Te Anau, and there, from Te Anau Downs station, made a three-hour trip up the lake by launch to the North Anau, landing at the mouth of the Glaisnock River.

There is impressive, but grim, scenery in this region. The mountains fall sheer to the water’s edge, and the vallevs are filled with thick bush? lca\ mg little or no= open ground. The mountains are clothed with snow at their peaks, and waterfalls leap down the mountain sides. The bush contains, ns well ns iblnck bircli ? liniu lawyer nncl other abominations. T.he .shooting party had transported a canoe from. Christchurch on their car ,and it was in the canoe that they, landed from the launch, and took thengear and supplies to the land. Once the launch had left, the three were cut off by 40 miles of land, impossible croing, and 25- miles of water, from the nearest habitation. There was only one other shooting party in the bush—-Major Wilson, of Bolls, and Mi' Strang, of -New Plymouth, who had Mr Muir with them, as guide. But Mr Edgar Stead, of Christchurch, was there also, studying bird life. “For variety in bird life, that country could hardly bo bettered in New Zealand,” Mr Hervey said, “We saw blue mountain duck, black teal, grey duck paradise duck, kiwis, and kakapos, 3 and woodpigeons, besides the various smaller types such as waxeyes and riflemen. And the wekas, of course —they were plentiful, and ate our soap and stole our spoons.” The Christchurch party found that Mr Strang had already got an excellent wapiti head, 58 Jin. long with 13 points. Rain was common, but stalkers in the wapiti country expect to go about wet through. A : -base camp- was established', and from that point the three worked up the Glaisnock and made a flying camp up a tributary. It was here that a- wapiti was shot-. The beast was heard to bugle. The -stalkers gave an answering whistle, and tha wapiti whistled in reply. JSTear dusk, he was located about 300 feet above the river, in thick bush. He was shot at a range of Id yards. Though hard hit, Jie came straight down toward the rifleman, who jumped out of the way and fired another shot as the wapiti went past. It was a young 11-pointer, the head measuring 38in. in width and 47-Jin. in length. The next day was occupied’ in moving out the head and skin—the headskin alone weighed 40lb. The wapiti is a very thick-hided beast. On a further expedition up the Glaisnock, the party found itself cut off by floods and was held up on rationed food or a while. On the way out, another head was obtained, an exceptionally heavy 13pointed, 48in long and with a beam i f BJin. The weather did not permit of any further excursions into the valley, beyond the immediate vicinity of the base camp. Wapiti were imported into New Zealand from Canada in 1905, and released at George Sound. They may be described as the largest of the deer family—heads over sft in length have been obtained. Male animals are/ on the average, larger than a bullock, hut wapiti fall readily to a well-directed rifle shot. They are, it- is considered, easier to kill than red deer. Both shooting parties vacated 1 the block on April 7, and the three Christchurch men spent the next two days overhauling their gear, and thoroughly drying out their clothes, at the To Anau Downs station. A one-day trip was made up the Eglinton Valley, where the new road is nearing completion, and the travellers were greatly impressed by the good grading and bridging of this highway, and the excellent scenery of the route.j Three red deer stags were shot in the lower Eglinton, hut the heads were not worth bringing out. The next day’s trip was to Tapanui, where permission to shoot fallow deer was obtained from the local State Forests superintendent. Three beasts were shot, and a small nine-point head obtained. Mr Hervey thinks it unlikely that heads of any size would be obtainable in that region. Fallow deer are about the size of a calf. Very quick-moving, they travel in a series of bounds and seek cover when alarmed. On the next day the party went on

to the north, hy way of Lindis Pass —in that part of the country, incidentally, they found many of the old goldmining claims being worked again. A night was spent in camp beside Lake Pukaki, and on the following day permission was obtained from the manager of the Glen Tanner station for an expedition into the Ben Ohau range. There, two male thar were shot. The dry skin of the 13m head beast weighed over 401 b. “Thar were introduced by the Tourist Department in 1005, and liberated at Mt. Cook,” Mr Hervey remarked. “They have increased, but they do not seem toi have spread overi a- large area.” They frequent open slopes above the 4000 ft level, and bluffs and precipitous faces so difficult that in many cases only an experienced rock climber could atome within range of them. The size of a small calf, thar have exceptionally thick skin with long brown hair which trails on the ground. Their bounding action, on the move, is reminiscent of the nursery rocking-horses. Two days vfere spent after chamois, and nine of these goat-like beasts were shot, several of the beads being about Din. It was, as lias been seen, a wellfilled 22 days 1