Stewart Island Open Hunting Area
Stewart Island Open Hunting Area is a 99,993-hectare hunting block in Stewart Island/Rakiura. Elevations run from near sea level to 972 m, with a median around 196 m.
The country here is lowland and foothill country, with slopes that lean south. Rakiura is low-altitude bush country — dense podocarp and broadleaf forest down to the coast, with no tree line and mild but wet weather year round.
Game on the block includes red deer and white-tail. Stewart Island carries the only public-land herd of white-tail in New Zealand, hunted at low altitude in heavy bush.
Open Stewart Island Open Hunting Area on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 366,708 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 0–972 m
- Median elevation
- 196 m
- Middle 50%
- 99–319 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 0%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 0%
- Dominant aspect
- south-facing
0–972 m, lowland / foothill country, leaning south-facing.
What you can hunt here
Access & getting there
Access to Stewart Island Open Area is typically by boat from Halfmoon Bay (Oban), or on foot via Rakiura's coastal track network. Helicopter access is not flagged on this block, so most hunters arrive by water taxi and walk in from the nearest landing or hut.
No DOC huts or campsites are recorded inside the block, so most parties base from accommodation in Oban or set a camp once dropped off by water taxi.
Permits & rules
You need a DOC hunting permit to hunt this block. It is classed as a Ordinary block in the Stewart Island Open Hunting Area permit area, with a hunting status of Permitted.
A DOC hunting permit is required to hunt the Stewart Island Open Hunting Area. The block is an Ordinary, Permitted block and can be hunted through the standard DOC online permit system without going through a ballot — check current permit conditions before you go.
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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