Scenery

Enjoy the view

Deer Park Heights offers unique, uninterrupted views of the Wakatipu Basin. There are two main lookout points from which to take in the stunning scenery and picnic spots along the drive to enjoy.  Explore at your leisure.

Eastern summit lookout

At the eastern summit lookout, you will reach a fenced area where you can look down at the winding kawarau and shotover rivers, out over the basin to Arrowtown, the famous Remarkables mountain range and down to the southern end of Lake Wakatipu towards Kingston. This area was the set location for the River Anduin in the Lord of the Rings movies. Keep an eye out below, you might see wild tahr and goats in the bluffs.

Western summit lookout

From here the ultimate view over Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand’s longest at a length of 80km and a max depth of 380m, with Queenstown below, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak, Mt Nicholas and to the Southern Alps beyond.

There is a 20 minute walk linking the two lookouts which takes you past several tarns, another picnic spot and an iconic LOTR’s film location. (LOTR #1)

There are plenty of spots to have a picnic which offer splendid views of the unique landscape. We hope you enjoy this unique spot! 

Explore our farm

Stags

The Stags in the enclosure are male Red Deers. The Stags impressive antlers are structures of display and are used for combat in the mating season. A Stags dominance is primarily determined on body size and antler size. Stags have an annual growth cycle of antlers which starts in spring and can grow up to 2cm a day. At the end of the rutting season (autumn) the antlers drop off, and they develop a new pair of antlers every year from bony outgrowths called pedicles at the top of the skull. Do not attempt to feed or approach these animals. 

Stags

The Stags in the enclosure are male Red Deers. The Stags impressive antlers are structures of display and are used for combat in the mating season. A Stags dominance is primarily determined on body size and antler size. Stags have an annual growth cycle of antlers which starts in spring and can grow up to 2cm a day. At the end of the rutting season (autumn) the antlers drop off, and they develop a new pair of antlers every year from bony outgrowths called pedicles at the top of the skull. Do not attempt to feed or approach these animals. 

Donkeys

Donkeys are the friendliest of our mammals at Deer Park, they love sheep nuts and a scratch on the head. You may see a family of Donkeys as well as some larger horses which are Mules. The Mules are a mixture of a Miniature horse and Donkey, the perfect mix! Donkeys are known for their intelligence. A donkey will stop and assess a new situation and think about its choices before making a decision on what action to take. These Donkeys are very friendly and will let you feed them by hand.