Mount Harper/ Mahaanui
Mount Harper/ Mahaanui is a 6,089 ha public hunting block in the mid-Canterbury foothills. Elevations run from around 410 m up to 1,830 m, with a median of about 1,020 m.
It sits as a mix of bush and tops — roughly 35% of the block is above the 1,200 m bushline and 10% pushes into ground above 1,500 m. Hunters get bush and shrubland on the lower faces feeding up to open tussock tops, with the upper ground concentrated around Mount Harper itself. Slopes lean predominantly south, so faces stay cool and snow-holding longer through winter and spring.
The block carries red deer, tahr, chamois and wild pig. For a compact foothills block, that's a useful four-species mix — particularly with tahr and chamois both available on the higher faces.
Open Mount Harper/ Mahaanui on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 19,956 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 415–1,830 m
- Median elevation
- 1,015 m
- Middle 50%
- 702–1,308 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 35%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 10%
- Dominant aspect
- south-facing
415–1,830 m, a mix of bush and tops, leaning south-facing.
What you can hunt here
Access & getting there
Air access is permitted, which is worth knowing on a block this size — helicopter drops can shortcut what would otherwise be a long climb to the tops. Notably, WARO is not permitted on Mount Harper/ Mahaanui, so recreational hunters don't have to factor in commercial helicopter recovery operations when planning a trip here.
There are no huts on the block, and no campsites are listed. Parties will need to carry a tent or fly camp for any overnight stay.
Permits & rules
You need a DOC hunting permit to hunt this block. It is classed as a Ordinary block in the Canterbury permit area, with a hunting status of Permitted.
This block sits within a DOC air-access zone — fly-in hunting and helicopter drop-offs may be permitted.
A DOC hunting permit is required to hunt Mount Harper/ Mahaanui. It's an Ordinary block with a Permitted status — permits are issued through the standard Canterbury process rather than a ballot. Permits are free but must be carried in the field.
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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