Hunt Dragons in a stunning Native Forest

Plenty of archery coaching to turn even absolute beginners into good shots
Amazing scenery with an ancient New Zealand native forest and crystal clear streams
All archery equipment for your visit: real longbows, arrows and a leather quiver
Shooting at lifelike fantasy and game archery targets in the bush
Only 15 minutes from Nelson central with a free pickup option from the i-Site

The Ultimate Vegan Hunting Experience

A great instructor, heaps of fun and walk through beautiful NZ native (That rivals many paid bush tours).

Russel Adams

Tours start at set times and each tour is limited to a maximum of 6 people.

Bookings are essential.

Click on the “Book Now” button to make your booking.

Trust your instincts

We show you the right posture, how to hold and draw the bow and will start your journey into instinctive archery. You will become able to shoot your arrow into the exact spot you’re mentally focusing on. While this technique takes a lot of practise to master, we always see great results with our training method.

Shoot with real longbows

Shoot with real longbows and arrows with real feathers and feel and look like a pro with your armguard and quiver.

We have gone to great length to find longbows suitable for beginners, as we want you to have the best experience. Our arrows are custom made for us and have our unique teaching friendly colour scheme and are a perfect match for our bows. The Archery Park gear for guests is maintained to the same standard as our own personal archery gear.

Get trained by a certified archery coach

New Zealand’s most intense archery attraction is run by long time longbow archer Markus. He has been practising the sport for over 17 years. He won the silver medal in his division in the 2018 NZFAA Bowhunter Nationals and is a certified NZFAA community archery coach.

Markus has built his own bows and arrows, has trained many archers and is actively involved in the professional traditional archery sport. He has won and organised several traditional archery tournaments and built a successful archery club.

Markus is a member of the Traditional Archery Society, the New Zealand Field Archery Association (NZFAA) and the New Zealand Bowhunter Society (non-hunting, but enjoying their tournaments). He also was an administrator for one of Europeans largest traditional archery internet discussion board.

Expect a great time . . . And then see your expectations exceeded!

What can I say? The activity was organised by my adult kids and I went along expecting to shooting arrows for an hour. Instead we got a 3+ hour adventure. We got a first-rate tutor, Markus, who gave clear, safe, practical instructions (and patient too) teaching us the basics. Then, it’s off into the forest hunting for dragons and creatures, Lord of the Rings style. The amazing thing was how deceptively Marcus improved our shooting skills with each target increasing in difficulty. I could not believe that we were hitting targets as accurately as we did. The scenery in the forest was beautiful and surprisingly cool for such a hot day. We had a blast . . And recommend it 100%. . . Worth every cent.

Scott Carpenter

An outdoor archery adventure that you will never forget

We have special archery targets in various shape and forms that are placed in the most stunning environment. Shoot at targets in the shape of a boar or rabbit and meet some marvelous fantasy creatures like Dragons.

Explore a pristine native forest and Nelson’s cleanest stream

Our tramping track leads into 5 hectar of pristine native forest along Nelson’s cleanest stream and we will point out interesting plants and nature activities along the way. Walk under hundreds of years old Totara and Maitai trees that tower high above the forest, shoot between 6m tall silver-ferns and get close to New Zealand bird life, with Bellbirds, Robins, Tuis and Fantails abundant. Cross and listen to Nelson’s cleanest stream and leave civilization behind.

This was the most enjoyable day of our trip

This was the most enjoyable day of our trip! I had never shot an arrow before, but Markus made it fun and easy. I think I even got really good at it!

Susanne Niedermeyer

Archery training at Archery Park Nelson — Archery is all about consistency. We teach you how to find and use an anchor point.

Archery Park Nelson beginner training pulling arrows from target — Think you're done once the arrows are in the target? There are actually a few things to remember when you pull them out again.

New archery skills learned at Archery Park Nelson — At Archery Park Nelson you will learn the right posture to shoot the longbow.

A group enjoying archery at Archery Park Nelson — Use your newly learned skill on a simulated hunt for wild foam animals.

Arrow shot from a longbow in mid-flight at Archery Park Nelson — Archery is a fun activity for all ages.

Girl preparing to shoot bow and arrow at Archery Park Nelson — Crown your archery hunting experience by shooting a Dragon with your bow and arrow.

3D dragon archery target full of arrows at Archery Park Nelson — At Archery Park we really want you to learn the skill of instinctive archery and will be with you the whole time for personal training.

Your journey at Archery Park Nelson

Your visit will entail the following:

Archery lessons on our lawn range with longbows by our certified archery coach
A short 4WD drive through the farm and across small stream
A 10min bush walk along Nelson’s cleanest stream
Lots of shooting in our unique native forest archery range at game and fantasy archery targets

Tours start at set times and each tour is limited to a maximum of 6 people.

Bookings are essential.

Click on the “Book Now” button to make your booking.

If you miss every single target then we will issue you with a full refund!

Tour departures

Tours start most days at 9.00am and 1.30 pm. Just choose the day and start time that suits you best in our online booking system. Please book in advance to avoid any disappointment.

Please be on time as we’re leaving to the archery range from the meeting point as a group.

Duration

Allow 3 to 4 hours.

Costs

$125 per person – our special opening rate

Family passes and local specials are available.

All Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult at all times. The accompanying adult must participate in the activity. All prices include GST. A portion of your payment will support our Robin Hood Scheme and our Archery Club.

What to wear

All you need is a pair of sturdy shoes, weather appropriate clothes and a sense of adventure. Our unique forest archery is along 3 km track with uneven ground and two small stream crossings with a rope handrail and boulder hopping. Jandals (flip-flops) are not appropriate footwear!

What to bring

Bring sunscreen and insect repellent, water and a snack – carry it in a small backpack so that you have your hands free for your bow.

Carry your emergency medication if you are allergic to wasp or bee stings or anything else you might encounter outdoors. And please advise us about this when you book.

Can you do it?

You need to be fit enough to walk an outdoor track over 3km which has uneven, steep, muddy and narrow sections. It crosses two small streams using boulders and handrail ropes.

But we do not expect you to know anything about archery.

Minimum age

The Dragon Hunt Archery Experience is suitable for kids from 10 years onward. They must be able to walk for ca. 3km and be able to spend 2 hours outside in the bush as we can’t return to base in the middle of the tour. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult that must also participate in the archery experience.

If they are under the age of 10 but have experience in archery or are fit and very coordinated from other sports we may agree to their participation, but contact us before you make your booking so that we can assess the situation.

Bad weather cancellations

Heavy rain and strong wind severely affect arrow flight and can create risks on our track network. Should we have to cancel a session because of a bad weather forecast we will advise you on the day before your booking at around 5pm. A full refund will be issued. Please note that this is a rare occasion, as we’re in sunny Nelson.

After heavy rain the streams in our park can be very high for a couple of days. In this rare case we will get in touch with you and you can choose between three options: 1) Simply postpone your booking 2) An extended archery training session on our practise range and a 50% refund or 3) A full refund

Sessions are private and by arrangement only – bookings are essential!

Getting to Archery Park Nelson

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 Skywire, Happy Valley and Cable Bay. We are 2 km down Cable Bay Road on the right hand side – look for the Cable Bay Adventure Park sign.

Free pickup: We offer a free pickup from Nelson i-Site for all Dragonhunt Archery Experience bookings.