Fiordland National Park is in the south-western corner of New Zealand, and covers an area of 1,260,740 hectares. Access by road is via Te Anau, Lake Manapouri, and other points on the Scenic Southern Route.

Fiordland National Park provides innumerable hunting opportunities. In most cases, access is via helicopter or boat. Several helicopter and charter boat companies operate within Fiordland National Park. However, there are many road access points along the eastern boundary of the park and several public boat ramps.

Hunting areas near Fiordland National Park

Many other hunting opportunities are available in areas to the east of Fiordland National Park which can be based from Te Anau or Manapouri including the:

• Takitimu Conservation Area
• Snowden Forest/Mount Prospect/Margin Forest Conservation Area
• Eyre Mountains Conservation Park
• Mavora Lakes Park

Kea may be present in this hunting area

Kea love exploring anything new, and are capable of shredding tents, bags and everything else left at campsites. This can be unsafe for kea and become a dangerous safety issue for hunters who rely on their equipment for survival in the hills.

• Do not feed kea. Hide and/or bury organic food scraps including meat away from your campsite.
• Where possible, set up camp under forest/scrub cover rather than in the open.
• Keep your campsite tidy and consider packing gear into hard boxes/bags or covering it with a tarp.
• Ignore kea as much as possible – interaction can become a game and encourage them.
• You may need to keep a member of your party on ‘camp guard duty’.

Lead is toxic to humans and kea. Kea are known to feed on wild animal carcasses.

• Consider using lead-free projectiles.
• If you do use lead ammunition, try to reduce the visibility/accessibility of lead affected tissue – consider taking the bullet-damaged parts with you, or burying/hiding it.

Kea are an endangered species and it is illegal to harm them. For more information see guidance for hunting in kea habitat.