Rock and Pillar
Rock and Pillar is a 9,868 ha block in the Coastal Otago north of the Catlins permit area, covering the long Rock and Pillar Range inland of Dunedin. Elevations run from 396 m on the lower faces to 1,440 m on the tops, with a median of 1,074 m. Eighteen per cent of the country sits above the 1,200 m bushline, with no true alpine ground above 1,500 m.
This is high open tussock country rather than bush — a long flat-topped range with broad faces and shallow basins. The block leans south-east, so morning sun lights the country cleanly and the southerly weather hits the western edges first. Most of the ground is open enough to glass across without breaking out of cover.
Game on the permit is red deer, wild goat and wild pig. The open tussock makes this useful country for parties wanting to glass and stalk rather than work bush edges.
Open Rock and Pillar on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 36,341 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 396–1,440 m
- Median elevation
- 1,074 m
- Middle 50%
- 962–1,177 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 18%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 0%
- Dominant aspect
- south-east-facing
396–1,440 m, a mix of bush and tops, leaning south-east-facing.
What you can hunt here
Access & getting there
Helicopter access is permitted on Rock and Pillar. Wild Animal Recovery Operations (WARO) are not permitted on this block, so commercial helicopter shooting is not a concern.
Big Hut sits inside the block in Rock and Pillar Conservation Area. It has cooking, mattresses, lighting, non-flush toilet and tap or stream water — and importantly it's bookable, so plan ahead via DOC's hut booking system. The hut gives walk-in parties a fixed base on the tops to glass from.
Huts & campsites
Permits & rules
You need a DOC hunting permit to hunt this block. It is classed as a Ordinary block in the Coastal Otago north of the Catlins 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, and Rock and Pillar sits within the Coastal Otago north of the Catlins permit area. The block is Ordinary with a Permitted hunt status, so permits are issued through the standard online system rather than a ballot.
1080 & pesticide status
- Pesticide (1080 or similar) has been laid in or near this block — check current dog and carcass restrictions before you hunt.
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