Hāwea Conservation Park is located to the north of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea, and is accessed from the Haast Highway (SH6), Hunter Valley or Timaru Creek/Dingle Burn Station roads.

Climate

Northern and western areas of the Park are close to the Main Divide and therefore wet and moist, prone to high rainfall events. Southern and eastern areas are still mountainous and exposed to bad weather, but generally drier and can be hot in summer.

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.