Toitu Te Whenua (Leave the land undisturbed) A growing number of people are enjoying outdoor recreation. Many of us like to visit rural, backcountry, coastal and rugged areas. With this rise in use has come an increasing impact on the natural environment. Damaged plants, unsightly rubbish, eroding short cuts, polluted water, and deteriorating facilities are now more common across the country.
There are more than 5 million hectares (around 1/3rd of the country) protected in parks and reserves.
The parks embody an incredible amount of landscape & vegetation – including plants and animals that are not found anywhere else in the world.
These magnificent facilities range from the mangrove fringed tidal inlets of Northland, to the snow capped volcanoes of the central plateau, the forests of Te Urewera… to the majestic glaciers and mountains of the south. They provide unlimited opportunity for outdoor adventure.
Huts are great places to stay in the New Zealand countryside. They come in all vintages. The oldest huts were built in the late 1800’s, more were built during the 1930’s to 1950’s, but most were purpose built in the 1960’s and 1970’s for the deer culling (yes, deer are so prolific in NZ that they are considered pests!) programmes carried out by the Forest and Wildlife Services.
By the late 1970’s some places had become so popular for recreation that new and larger huts were built to cope with demand.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) manages more than 900 huts and these provide unique places to stay, refuge from bad weather, and a place to rest and recover when you are exploring New Zealand’s great outdoors.
There are four categories of huts, depending on the facilities offered. They are:
You should plan ahead as some hut services and facilities operate on a seasonal basis only.
Hut tickets, the Backcountry Hut Pass and Great Walk Pass can be purchased from DOC Visitor and Information Centres, or their offices nationwide.
Hunting, fishing & various commercial activities in NZ often require permits, licences or concessions. Some areas of conservation land (such as offshore islands), which are particularly sensitive, require special permits to visit.
Permits or licences are required for trout or salmon fishing & for hunting game birds – such as ducks, geese and pheasants.
The Department of Conservation manages trout fishing in Lake Taupo & whitebait fishing nationally, as well as concessions for a wide range of commercial tourist activities.
Fish & Game NZ has responsibility for hunting of other fish (trout & salmon) and game birds.