Central Otago and The Remarkables hunting

Located in the Otago region

Find a hunting area in the Central Otago and The Remarkables open hunting permit area.

Central Otago and The Remarkables open hunting permit area map

The Central Otago/Remarkables hunting area comprises 38,000 hectares of public conservation land in the Central Otago block mountains. Species present are goats, rabbits, hares, pigs and red deer, with some fallow deer in the northern Dunstan mountains and some chamois in the northern Remarkables.

The landscape has very little closed canopy, and is characterised by tussock grassland, cushion fields, upland bogs, schist tors and saline areas.

Climate

Being in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, the area’s climate is very dry with continental-like extreme of temperature between summer and winter

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.