Big Hellfire
Big Hellfire is a 993-hectare block on Stewart Island/Rakiura, set inside the Stewart Island Restricted Hunting Areas. Like the rest of the island, it is sea-level bush country with no alpine ground.
Elevations run from about 0 m up to 337 m, with a median of 127 m. The dominant aspect is south-west-facing, and the block sits well below the bushline — this is sea-level bush hunting through podocarp and broadleaf forest, peat flats and stunted coastal scrub.
Game on the permit includes red deer and white-tail. The white-tail are the draw — Stewart Island holds the only population in New Zealand — and most hunting is quiet, close-range work through the bush.
Open Big Hellfire on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 3,638 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 0–337 m
- Median elevation
- 127 m
- Middle 50%
- 82–180 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 0%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 0%
- Dominant aspect
- south-west-facing
0–337 m, lowland / foothill country, leaning south-west-facing.
What you can hunt here
Access & getting there
The block has one DOC shelter recorded — Big Hellfire Hut — which gives a usable base for hunters working the country.
Air access is not flagged for this block, so practical access is by boat or floatplane charter to a nearby bay.
Huts & campsites
Heating, Mattresses, Toilets - non-flush, Water from tap - not treated, boil before use, Water supply
Permits & rules
You need a DOC hunting permit to hunt this block. It is classed as a Ordinary block in the Stewart Island Restricted Hunting Areas permit area, with a hunting status of Restricted.
A DOC hunting permit is required. The block is part of the Stewart Island Restricted Hunting Areas, which are allocated through DOC's Stewart Island block system — hunters book a specific block for set dates rather than turning up unannounced.
1080 & pesticide status
No current, planned or proposed pesticide operations intersect this block in our data. Always confirm with DOC before taking a dog in.
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