Upper Timaru
Upper Tīmaru is a 6,611 ha Roar block in the Hāwea Conservation Park / Lake Wanaka / Lower Matukituki Valley permit area. Elevations run from 665 m on the lower faces to 1,913 m on the tops, with a median of 1,365 m and 72% of the country above the 1,200 m bushline.
Thirty per cent of the block sits in true alpine ground, so this is mostly above the bushline tops country — open faces, hanging basins and rocky upper slopes. The block leans east, so morning sun catches the country cleanly for first-light glassing.
Game on the permit is red deer, tahr and chamois — the classic Hāwea alpine trio. The Tīmaru drainage is well-known tahr and chamois country.
Open Upper Timaru on the interactive map
Boundary, huts, terrain, tracks and 1080 zones — all layers, one map.
Terrain & elevation
Based on a sample of 22,123 DEM points inside the block.
- Elevation range
- 665–1,913 m
- Median elevation
- 1,365 m
- Middle 50%
- 1,171–1,532 m
- Above bushline (1,200 m)
- 72%
- Alpine (1,500 m+)
- 30%
- Dominant aspect
- east-facing
665–1,913 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 Tīmaru, and Wild Animal Recovery Operations (WARO) are also permitted, so commercial operators may be working the open faces.
Top Tīmaru Hut sits inside the block in Hāwea Conservation Park. It has 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 in the headwaters.
Huts & campsites
Mattresses, Toilets - non-flush, Water from stream, Water supply
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 Tīmaru 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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