The Otoko is located at the right at the Southern end of the tahr ballot blocks and is somewhat the Southern edge of the core tahr terrain. With its head basin squeezed between the two 2640m peaks of Mount Hooker and Mount Dechen it certainly looks and feels very alpine, even from back down at 700m where the landing site is when you’re looking up at 700 meters vertical of the McCardell glacier.
The campsite is fairly sheltered and handy to water, but as usual you’ll be waiting a while for the sun to hit and start drying yesterday’s socks. But it’s a great spot with a bunch of room and plenty of glassing from camp, just make sure you have a decent down jacket.
Image @ Sam Manson
This valley is seldom travelled outside of the tahr ballot apart from the odd keen tramper making the crossing into the Landsborough or the Clarke via the two passes in the valleys head, or the occasional mountaineer accessing Mount Hooker and Mount Dechen which were both first climbed in 1920’s and 30’s. And one can only imagine how daunting those peaks looked after the long drag up valley those guys experienced.
Muck like it’s neighbour the Jacobs, the Upper Otoko is steep sided and pretty much anything that’s not steep is cloaked in that dense Westland style jungle of bush and vines, making for seriously slow travel at times.
Using the creeks to access the upper bushline then waiting patiently is the name of the game here, but as always, it’s easier said than done with a bunch of trial, error and sweat required to figure out where you can and can’t get to. With ok hunting in all directions, it really is just a matter of knowing your limitations and picking your objectives accordingly.
The Otoko isn’t exactly famous for producing big heads, but I’d imagine there’s still been the odd good one. But perhaps with being on the fringes of the herd the potential is there in coming years, given there might be a bit more tucker there now.
Image @ Sam Manson
Being one of the longer flights from the hanger and these days given the price of fuel, you can expect this landing site to hurt your wallet a touch more than most. But save your pennies and suck it up, as what it’s really about experiencing that rugged Westland landscape and escaping reality for a week.
Originally produced for NZHunter Magazine - Grab a subscription here
