Hunting Molesworth

Active Stewardship in the High Country

Hunting on Molesworth is more than recreation; it is active wildlife management in New Zealands most demanding high-country environment. The Trust advocates for an evidence-based, hunter-led approach that values wild game as a quality food resource while keeping herd densities in balance with the native alpine and tussock ecosystems.

Every hunter who steps onto the hill has a direct role to play in both the health of the herd and the habitat

Herd Management & Harvest Strategy

Red Deer

Management Objective: Maintaining low to moderate densities to protect sensitive apline catchments, sub alpine scrub and domestic livestock feed

Harvest Advice: Focus effort on breeding females and yearlings to control recruitment, rather than solely pursuing mature stags. Full meat recovery is expected - take the prime cuts, prioritise clean kills and treat the animal with respect

Chamois

Management Objective: Monitoring presence across higher bluffs and alpine ridges

Harvest Advice: Chamois densities fluctuate sharply with winter conditions. Target older animals on the fringes, note locations of family groups, and report high-altitude sightings to the Trust to assist with range tracking

Small Game and Pigs

Management Objective: Suppression of pigs and Canada geese, both of which cause significant pasture and ground damage

Harvest Advice: Pigs should be targeted opportunistically wherever sign of habitation is fresh. Canada geese on river flats and up streams are an unmanaged grazing competitor and should be harvested whenever safe and practical

Hunting on a Working Station

Respect the right to farm on the reserve

Molesworth is not an empty wilderness; it is an operating high-country station within a recreation reserve. To ensure both recreation and farming operate simultaneously without conflict it is imperative that hunters respect the right of the station operators to get their work done safely and unhindered.

Stock first: Give cattle a wide berth. Try to skirt groups of animals and avoid pushing them ahead of you when traversing flats or streams. Find another route if you cannot easily get around the animals.

Gates as found: Leave all gates exactly as you find them - whether open, latched or chained.

Firearm Safety is your Responsibility: Follow all rules of firearm use, no night shooting and be sure to identify your target and ensure the firing zone has no livestock, infrastructure or persons in it.

Fires are banned: Total fire bans are constantly in place. No campfires and be very careful with gas cookers in dry grass.

Vehicle Discipline: Stay on the roads or tracks you are permitted to travel. Your short cut will take decades to recover in the harsh growth conditions of the high-country!

Your Safety and the Realities of Hunting Molesworth

Preparing for Demanding Country

Molesworth is vast, exposed and subject to rapid and sometimes violent weather changes. Frosts occur year-round and hot summer days can flip to freezing blizzards without warning and in very short periods.

Communication: Terrestial cellphone coverage is virtually non existent across hunting blocks. Satellite based communications and a Personal Locator Beacon are essential gear for every party
River Crossings: The Clarence, Awatere and Acheron catchments rise rapidly during nor-west rain events. Never force a crossing, wait out the high water or find an alternative route
Navigation & Fitness: Distances are deceptive in open tussock. Plan for long pack outs over scree, matagouri and steep ridge systems. Carry adequate warmth, wind and sun protection, and water on exposed tops where there are no reliable natural water sources

Citizen Science & Harvest Reporting

Report your Observations: Put Data on the Map

The Trusts advocacy relies on hard facts from the hill. Whether you harvest and animal or spend five days glassing empty ridges, your observations provide vital data on herd health, density shifts and state of vegetation.

What we Collect:

Species, sex, and estimated age of animals seen vs harvested
General condition scores and health indicators
Time spent on blocks and time spent hunting
Any observations of interest, other species, weed prevalence or notes on vegetation, weather conditions etc.

How to submit a return:

Our Daily Diary App is the preferred method. You can access it online here or download via the link attached to the graphic below. You can install on your phone to enter data while you are hunting or when in camp at night. It stores information on your phone then downloads once you are back in service directly to the trusts servers.

Instructions for installing on your phone:

Link to open - https://molesworth-trust.github.io/Diary/

Android: If you open it in your browser on the phone you can turn it into an app on your screen by using the 3 dots in the top right of the browser window, tap that and select Add to Home Screen or install app then tap install or add when prompted.
IPhone: Open Safari or Chrome and go to the link, tap the Share button at the bottom, scroll down to Add to home screen, edit the name if you want then tap Add in the top right corner.

Code to get in is: molesworth2026