Archery Adventures in Stunning Native Bush
“Wow, I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone. Skill, nature, fun and excitement!!” – Trip Advisor Review
Become an archer as you hunt for Dragons and lifelike archery targets while enjoying ancient NZ native bush at its finest. You’ll be crossing glistening streams, listening to the songs of native birds and sneaking between the trunks of giant trees during the Dragon Hunt. No experience needed, full training and all the high-quality traditional Archery gear is provided. So, are you ready to hunt a Dragon?
Maybe you’ve always fancied having a go at Archery – feeling like the movie legends. Maybe the thought had never crossed your mind but you think it could be something you’d enjoy. Maybe you’ve done Archery before and would like somewhere to practice. Come to our range during the casual drop-in times, book a lesson or bring a team for a fun birthday event. Coaching and all the traditional Archery gear you need is always included. Come on, give it a go.
Archery Park welcomes qualifying archers to use our facilities for training and fun adventures on their own for a small fee. We have a target range with permanently targets up to 45m and an ever growing permanent 3D archery target field course. Guests can use our facilities 7 days a week during our opening times. Please make yourself familiar with our rules and regulations before you visit.
Looking for an activity to excite your team at the next corporate event? How about something that’s fun, active and a little competitive? We tailor your event to suit your needs. Compete for the best archer on our range and try your skills at lifelike archery targets or battle it out in an epic Archery battle. To mark the occasion and reward the most deserving, medals are provided to the organiser to give out to the most legendary competitor.
Are you ready to shoot a mate with bow and arrow? Archery Battle is our take on the game of Archery Tag – fun, fast, safe and full of action. Think of Archery Battle as a cross between Dodge Ball, Paintball and Archery. There are no painful bruises like after paintball and it’s completely safe. Great fun for teams and groups. Come out for an action-packed afternoon of adrenaline and a good dose of competitive fun.
Learn to shoot the longbow and get to explore a native New Zealand forest that has been left alone by humans since the begin of time – classified as one of the most diverse nature areas on the top of the South Island: Nelson’s cleanest stream, giant towering trees, some of the largest silver ferns in NZ and an active bird life await you.
Archery challenges will keep you entertained throughout the tour: Shoot realistic looking Dragons and other targets uphill, downhill over streams, between ferns and under trees. This is archery in a whole new format and unique in New Zealand!
Your guide has 18 years of archery experience, is a certified archery coach, holds a NZ silver medal and a national archery record. You will get initial in-depth archery coaching and help to master the challenges in the forest archery course.
Free photos and highlights of special nature features are included.
Marcus was amazing - we were in a stunning forest with new found archery skills. Would definitely recommend and will come back with the whole family for another go.
Our party of four (ages 25, 57, 57, and 84) had such fun at the dragon hunt today. Markus was a knowledgable, fun, and passionate instructorguide who clearly loves what... read more
Went on a mother/daughter experience together. We had plenty of time to get our skills perfected enough on the targets before going 'bush'. With only a small group and excellent... read more
The Dragon hunt archery was a great experience. You really get the feeling of being a lone hunter surving in the jungle. A great mix between shooting bows and hiking... read more
Took the younger brother out to the forest to shoot some dragons with longbows.... Enough said! Had a blast and Markus is really knowledgable and a great teacher. You will... read more
Headed out with some mates for a morning session with Markus. This would have to be the most fun I have had in a long time. By the end of... read more
We spent a decent half a day at the archery park in a group of five, with Markus. He was very knowledgeable, helpful and fun to work with. Plenty of... read more
My wife and I and two teenage sons had a fantastic archery experience with Markus the instructor and owner of the business. All beginners, I was impressed with how quickly... read more
Markus really knows his stuff. We had a fantastic 4 hours. First, he taught us all the steps to shooting long bows on his range and then we went into... read more
Marcus was amazing - we were in a stunning forest with new found archery skills. Would definitely recommend and will come back with the whole family for another go.
Our party of four (ages 25, 57, 57, and 84) had such fun at the dragon hunt today. Markus was a knowledgable, fun, and passionate instructorguide who clearly loves what... read more
Went on a mother/daughter experience together. We had plenty of time to get our skills perfected enough on the targets before going 'bush'. With only a small group and excellent... read more
The Dragon hunt archery was a great experience. You really get the feeling of being a lone hunter surving in the jungle. A great mix between shooting bows and hiking... read more
Took the younger brother out to the forest to shoot some dragons with longbows.... Enough said! Had a blast and Markus is really knowledgable and a great teacher. You will... read more
Headed out with some mates for a morning session with Markus. This would have to be the most fun I have had in a long time. By the end of... read more
Archery Park is only a 15-minute drive from Nelson Central. We’re located at Cable Bay Adventure Park on 194 Cable Bay Road, Nelson.
Drive 14km north from Nelson City towards Picton. Turn left into Cable Bay Road at the sign posts Cable Bay. We are 2 km down Cable Bay Road on the right-hand side – look for the Archery Park Flag and the Cable Bay Adventure Park sign.
We provide a free pickup from Nelson i-Site for all Dragon Hunt Adventure guests.
We truly believe that traditional archery has a positive effect on people of all ages. But the ones that need an adventure experience the most are often also the ones that don’t have the means for such an activity.
That’s where our Robin Hood Scheme can help. Under the scheme, we work at cost to provide reduced rates to health and social services and community groups with a social purpose. We love to help because we care about people and the feedback we’ve received has been outstanding.
Archery Park is a social business – our main objective is to grow the sport of traditional archery in Nelson and New Zealand. This passion was desperately needed to keep us motivated to deliver you the most exciting news since we have started!
Our plan is to offer a regular weekly club session where archers get together for archery lessons on our practise and 3D archery range and to have a good old yarn about archery. We’re even planning to host upcoming competitions.
We love nature and the New Zealand wildlife, so we wanted to do our part for conservation from day one – with the aim to become a Carbon Negative business. Our servers are hosted green and all material is printed on recycled paper. We are also reducing the amount of foreign plant life, removing non-native weeds and aim to give our natives space to thrive.
To give birds a better chance of survival, we have started a trapping programme and we’re baiting for wasps.
We partner regularly with local School Holiday Programme providers to allow kids to have a go at archery at Archery Park during the school holidays. But be quick, we’re usually the day that is booked out first.
We also have a lot of families visiting us during the school holidays. And what could be better than half a day outside, strolling through the bush, equipped with bow and arrows? Get in touch if you are interested to hear about options.
Archery Park is dedicated to the sport of traditional archery. It is based at the Cable Bay Adventure Park and has a fully equipped target range and a 3D field archery course following a 3km course through stunning native bush.
Archery Park gets consistently rated 5* by its guests, locally and from all over the whole world.
Beginners rave about their first experience of traditional archery and experienced archers love the setup and passion put into the 3D field archery range.
Markus, the owner, guide and coach of Archery Park, has 18 years of experience in traditional archery and is a certified New Zealand Field Archery Coach (NZFAA). He has coached hundreds of archers and has a great talent to teach anyone the basics of archery.
Markus came 2nd in the 2018 3D Bowhunter Nationals and holds the current New Zealand record for highest score on a 20 * 3D archery field course with a historic bow.
He is a member of the International Field Archery Association, New Zealand Field Archery Association, Traditional Archery Society and New Zealand Bowhunter Society.
Be the first to hear about news, specials and progress regarding our community projects.
Markus, the owner, guide and coach of Archery Park is a member of several recognised governing archery bodies:
"A great half day out, great value for money. Start out slow to get the technique right and then go for a walk through the native bush shooting targets. A great sense of achievement at the end of it...."
ONLINE BOOKINGS CLOSE 3 HOURS BEFORE TOURS START. FOR LAST MINUTE BOOKINGS CALL US ON 03-398 8043
