You don't need a firearms licence, and you don't need any experience. You just need to want to be part of it.
What you get
Members of the Southern Lakes branch get:
Free stays in our two club huts (local active members) and entry to the Steele Creek ballot area.
$10 million public liability insurance whenever you're hunting — including a $1 million rural-fires extension. Often what unlocks forestry-block access.
A community of hunters. Club nights with guest speakers, organised club hunts, working bees — and people who'll take a newcomer out and show them how it's done.
Discounts on DOC backcountry huts and outdoor shops, the monthly newsletter, and a say in how hunting is looked after, locally and nationally.
New to it? Good — that's how most of us started.
Plenty of our members joined knowing nobody and never having shot a deer. You don't have to come to every meeting. You don't have to own a rifle. Come to a club night, do a HUNTS course, or just get in touch and have a yarn — we're an easy bunch to join.
Come to a club night · Email us
Membership types and fees
The membership year runs 1 March to the end of February. If you join part way through, the national capitations are adjusted to suit. There's a membership type for everyone:
Senior (18–65) — $160 per year
Junior (under 18) — $70 per year
Student (over 18, in study or apprenticeship, with current student ID) — $70 per year
Superannuant (65 or over at 1 March) — $105 per year
Family (partner, child or sibling under 18, added under a senior member) — $15 per year
Affiliate (already a full member of another NZDA branch) — $55 per year
Your fee covers a national capitation, fixed levies, and a branch contribution — it pays for the National Office, the insurance, the research fund, and running the branch.
A few notes
Family members are added under a senior member's account when joining.
Affiliate members can't stay free in the huts (free stays go with your primary branch) and can't vote in national competitions.
Junior and family members get the benefits of membership but no voting rights.
How to join
Joining is done on the national NZDA website. Pick Southern Lakes as your branch; if you're adding a partner or kids, add them under your membership as you go.