Upper Dingle
Upper Dingle is a 4,476 ha Roar block in the Hāwea Conservation Park / Lake Wanaka / Lower Matukituki Valley permit area. Elevations run from 780 m on the lower faces to 2,253 m on the tops, with a median of 1,372 m. Sixty-nine per cent of the country sits above the 1,200 m bushline and 35% in true alpine ground.
This is mostly above the bushline tops country — open faces, hanging basins and rocky upper slopes. The block leans east, so the morning sun catches the country cleanly for first-light glassing on the warm sidles.
Game on the permit is red deer, tahr and chamois — the classic Hāwea alpine trio. The Dingle is well-known tahr and chamois country, with reds working the lower bush edges and scrub.
Open Upper Dingle on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 14,984 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 780–2,253 m
- Median elevation
- 1,372 m
- Middle 50%
- 1,150–1,599 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 69%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 35%
- Dominant aspect
- east-facing
780–2,253 m, mostly above the bushline, leaning east-facing.
What you can hunt here
This is a roar — the red deer roar peaks from late March into April, and competition for the block is highest then.
Access & getting there
Helicopter access is permitted on Upper Dingle, and Wild Animal Recovery Operations (WARO) are also permitted, so commercial operators may be working the open faces.
Top Dingle Hut sits inside the block in Hāwea Conservation Park. It has heating, mattresses, non-flush toilet and stream water, and is not bookable — first in for any party using it. The hut gives walk-in parties a fixed base for working the alpine faces.
Huts & campsites
Heating, Mattresses, Toilets - non-flush, Water from stream, Water supply
Heating, Mattresses, Toilets - non-flush, Water from stream, Water supply
Permits & rules
You need a DOC hunting permit to hunt this block. It is classed as a Roar block in the Hawea Conservation Park/Lake Wanaka/Lower Matukituki Valley permit area, with a hunting status of Permitted.
Commercial wild-animal recovery (WARO) operates over this area — expect helicopter activity and pressured game.
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 for the Hāwea Conservation Park / Lake Wanaka / Lower Matukituki Valley permit area. Upper Dingle is a Roar block with a Permitted hunt status, so it is managed for the late-March to April rut — check the current ballot or roar allocation with DOC before planning a trip.
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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