Southern Lakes NZDA upcoming events

Cancelled 1-5 JUNE - Upper Caples Hut Working Bee and Club Hunting (1 Jun 2026)

Sun, 31 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Working bee to dig new toilet - Upper Caples Hut and Club Hunting Ballot

This is another great chance for new or inexperienced members to come along and learn with experienced Club Members. The Primary focus of this trip is to dig a new hole for the toilets as the current one is getting pretty full. Replenish firewood supplies, reconnect the water supply and undertake general tidy up Maintenance of the hut.

As a club arranged event - work comes first - with an expectation of a minimum of 5 hours a day of assistance on the tasks. This trip will be pretty relaxed and we have the hunting ballot so you will going right into the end of the fallow rut

While there is some work to do, we will also be playing as well and cater for all ages. This is a great chance to get to know fellow club members over a whisky/beer/wine or juice round the table at night. It is also Kings birthday on the Monday 1st June.

These working bees are always a popular and fun event and give back to the community.

The Club has the Upper Caples RHA Ballot from the 1st to the 5th June as part of our management agreement with DOC for maintaining the hut, so there is ample opportunity for hunting as well.

No firearms licence?
You are more than welcome to come along too - these are perfect opportunities to learn more in a safe and professional supervised environment in a relaxed learning setting.

Work planned
We plan to achieve the following during this working bee

dig a new hole and timber shore it, for the double toilet. about1.5m by 1.0m by 2.0m deep.
Clean the toilets and move to the new location with new foundations.
reconnect the hut creek water supply.
restocking and Splitting firewood for the hut from previously ringed up trees.
Clean out the grease trap.
Check smoke alarm and monoxide battery conditions.
Eat, drink and be merry.....and of course some hunting!

It is pretty casual and we aim to make it social and its a great place to de-stress by getting into the backcountry :-).

The Club will provide heli fight in and out or you can walk in or out and have your gear/meat flown in/out. the club will be paying for the helicopter.

We will need to limit it to 6 adults for the chopper but plenty of room in the hut if you want to walk in and help out.

Accommodation:

We will stay at the upper Caples Club hut (16 bunks).

Get on our website and look up our hut so you can see what is already there and the sleeping set ups etc. the club will arrange keys etc so don't worry about that.

Getting there
Ideally walking in is preferred however we can arrange to fly gear in and out for you if it coincides with the heli load schedule.

Heli flights for those in first (up to 4 spots) are available based on actual gear loading as we are only planning 1 flight in and out to save costs. if we fly out on the 5th we can back load with another party coming in.

Heli flights would leave from the Glenorchy aerodrome just before you get into Glenorchy.

Walking requires you to drive (additional 45 minutes) around or carpool and park at the Greenstone/Caples track carpark. You can fly one way and walk the other, but will need to coordinate pick ups as they are two completely different locations to end up at.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP

You must be a paid up current member of the club, prior to attending the event.

New members/guests are welcome however they will need to join up as member of the club to get this opportunity. If not then the cost of Heli flights is at full non discounted rate and a daily hut accommodation fee $30/day will apply and they will need to arrange and supply the certificates of their own general liability insurances prior to attending the event.

Normally flights will be determined based on when people are available as best possible so please let us know your flexibility for this in the registration form.

What time does the Heli fly?
Once we get closer to the time and have confirmed numbers, we will advise the times of the helicopters and further details, but it will be based on best situation for all so you will need to be slightly flexible.

What do I bring?
Your hunting gear, boots, hut shoe/slippers, gun security bits, food for you, clothes, towel, toiletries, sleeping bag/under sheet, working gloves, tools (will be advised closer to the time). A willingness to have fun, get dirty and enjoy being in the bush with like-minded people and learn heaps.

If someone wants to come in and be camp mother/father who sorts the dinners/ lunches/breakfasts for the team so they can not worry about it then, that would be fabulous, and we would coordinate a communal food menu.

So please book your leave with work now and register asap to secure your place on what will be another very fun and rewarding trip.

There will be a zoom briefing session on Wednesday 27th May at 8.30pm, if you can't make it please let Dave Rider know before hand.

We will also have a whats app chat group set up so you can ask any questions/ coordinate carpooling etc etc.

Committee Meeting (11 Jun 2026)

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:30:00 GMT

Our committee meetings are open to all members, and we encourage anyone interested in helping to organise and support the club to come along.

These meetings are where we plan upcoming events, discuss conservation projects, and make decisions that keep the branch running smoothly.

Members are encouraged to contribute ideas or propose events for the committee to consider. To keep meetings efficient, we ask that any proposals be submitted by email 7 days in advance so they can be circulated to the committee before the meeting.

For more information or to submit a proposal please email info@southernlakesnzda.org.nz.

Voting on decisions remains the role of committee members.

When: 2nd Thursday of every month, 7:30pm
Where: Online via Zoom
How to join: A Zoom link will be shared with members on registration

June Monthly Club Meeting (25 Jun 2026)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT

WHEN

Last Thursday of the Month
Bar opens at 6.30pm for social catch up
Meeting starts at 7.30pm.

WHERE

Arrowtown Bowling Club, 6 Hertford St, Arrowtown (next to the Arrowtown Fire station)

THEME OF MEETING

TBC

NEW MEMBER?

Come join us for social drinks before the club meeting and meet the members. New faces always welcome.

ZOOM

Alternatively join us via zoom (same link every meeting)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82994024744?pwd=U2xObThpUVdkRjhQTUxTd3MyL0RPQT09

Family Hunt Dunstan Downs Station (26 Jun 2026)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

REGISTER HERE

This is a a unique opportunity to hunt red deer, tahr, fallow and pigs on private land in the Lindis Pass area before it is opened to public having gone through the Tenure Review Process

Open to families of all levels from Southern Lakes, Upper Clutha, and Alexandra so please share if you have a family member keen to get out there

When: 26th - 28th of June

What to Bring: Food and rifles & bedding for the accomodation

Cost: 3 nights $120 per person

(with the focus on kids hunting with friends and family we can accommodate up to 18 people on a first come basis)

Details:
The station is half way between the Lindis Pass summit and before Omarama.

Please arrive on the Friday afternoon for a welcome and safety briefing

Hunt all day Saturday and Sunday before departing home on the Monday

Numbers: with the focus on kids hunting with friends and family, we can accommodate up to 18 people on a first come basis

Who: Open to members and potential members, as you must be a NZDA member to be covered by the insurance policy

For the new hunters Phil will be running an introduction to mountain hunting plus acting as ground support

There is cell service at the accommodation and on the hunting area, and there is wifi at the accommodation.

Dogs and 4x4 are permitted with approval by David.

Small game and night shooting is available.

Bring plenty of centre fire ammo and make sure you transport and store firearms and ammo as per the new law.

Permits: These are required as we are shooting next to public conservation land, please make sure you have the correct DOC open hunting permit for the "Eastern South Island, Canterbury Areas "

Link to permits

More info on the Tenure Review Process

Any enquiries to David Veitch 027 654 1023*

REGISTER HERE

Committee Meeting (9 Jul 2026)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 19:30:00 GMT

Our committee meetings are open to all members, and we encourage anyone interested in helping to organise and support the club to come along.

These meetings are where we plan upcoming events, discuss conservation projects, and make decisions that keep the branch running smoothly.

For more information or to submit a proposal please email info@southernlakesnzda.org.nz.

Committee Meeting (13 Aug 2026)

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:30:00 GMT

Our committee meetings are open to all members, and we encourage anyone interested in helping to organise and support the club to come along.

These meetings are where we plan upcoming events, discuss conservation projects, and make decisions that keep the branch running smoothly.

For more information or to submit a proposal please email info@southernlakesnzda.org.nz.