Christmas
Christmas is a 803-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 495 m, with a median of 201 m. The dominant aspect is east-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 Christmas on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 2,922 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 0–495 m
- Median elevation
- 201 m
- Middle 50%
- 98–304 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 0%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 0%
- Dominant aspect
- east-facing
0–495 m, lowland / foothill country, leaning east-facing.
What you can hunt here
Access & getting there
Recorded DOC shelters in the block include Christmas Village Hut, Christmas Village Hunters Hut, giving hunters more than one option for basing up.
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
- Christmas Village Hunters HutBookable
Heating, Mattresses, Toilets - non-flush, Water from tap - not treated, boil before use, Water supply
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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