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Hunting in Hawke’s Bay

25 DOC permit areas, 55 huts, 2,038 unformed legal roads — and what each of them means before you go.

What has been recorded here

Most of these are logged by the public rather than by hunters, so a cluster is a real sign the animal is about and out where it can be seen — it is not a record of where people hunt. But records follow tracks, roads and campsites, so empty country usually means nobody has walked it with a phone rather than that there is nothing there. Presence, not density.

Occurrence data from GBIF.org.

Where you can hunt

DOC files 25 hunting permit areas in Hawke’s Bay. Public conservation land needs a permit, and each area carries its own conditions and closures — which are DOC’s to set and worth reading for the block you pick.

2,038 unformed legal roads run through the region — public roads that were surveyed and never built. Many cross private farmland, and you may pass along one without asking anybody, though the paddocks either side stay private.

Open the map Make a hunt plan Fishing access in Hawke’s Bay

Balloted and restricted blocks here

How to get on every restricted block

1080 in Hawke’s Bay right now

1 DOC operation is in its caution period in Hawke’s Bay. Baits and carcasses can still kill a dog, and the caution period is the recorded minimum rather than an all-clear.

  • Northern Ruahine NPCP caution to 2027-07-05

Every recorded operation, and what it means for dogs

Shows operations recorded by DOC from March 2022 onward. This is not a statement that 1080 is or is not present now. Always follow on-site warning signs and check DOC for the authoritative position.

Huts

55 across 3 parks and conservation areas. 53 you can simply turn up at, and 38 of those have a fire.

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Hut locations and facilities: Department of Conservation (CC BY 4.0), via the DOC open data hub.

Kaweka Forest Park29 huts

Ruahine Forest Park25 huts

Elsewhere1 hut

Before you walk in

This is a snapshot of DOC’s hut dataset, not a live feed — DOC last refreshed it in April 2026 and has flagged it for replacement. Huts close, burn down, get booked out and get alerts put on them. Before you commit to sleeping in one, open its DOC page and check.

“Turn up” means first come, first served — carry a Backcountry Hut Pass or tickets, and expect company. The rules about firearms and carcasses near huts are the same everywhere and worth reading once.

Asking for private land

Most of Hawke’s Bay is somebody’s farm, and that is where the animals a landowner wants fewer of usually are. Find the block on the map and we work out the postal address without ever showing you who owns it; you print one page, they scan the code and answer.

Build a profile a landowner can trust