Need to report someone lost or missing? Dial 111 and ask for Police

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Contact

Before undertaking any outdoor recreational activity, please contact the relevant organisation for further advice, training or information:

Activity Information

Land-based activities

  • Mountain Safety Council - provides significant resources relating to land-based activities around New Zealand, such as hiking, as well as practical courses, training information and preparation videos.
  • Department of Conservation - managing the conservation of New Zealand's native species, public lands and recreational resources.  Providing information about safety for recreational activities on public conservation land, rivers, lakes and coastlines.

Water-based activities

  • Watersafety New Zealand - provides significant resources and awareness relating to water-based activities, such as swimming.
  • Surf Life Saving New Zealand - provides a national lifeguard service on selected beaches on behalf of central and regional government.
  • Department of Conservation - managing the conservation of New Zealand's native species, public lands and recreational resources.  Providing information about safety for recreational activities on public conservation land, rivers, lakes and coastlines.

Boating activities

  • Maritime New Zealand - regulates the rules around commercial and public boating, and provides practical resources relating to boating activities on New Zealand's waters and the law.
  • Coastguard New Zealand - provides practical safety assistance on the water, including offering boat towing-services and sand bar crossing assistance, as well as boating-related resources and apps. 
  • Coastguard Boating Education - provides in person and online courses and education relating to the safe operation of boating craft in New Zealand's waters.

Snow-based activities

  • Mountain Safety Council - provides significant resources and awareness relating to land-based activities that involve snow conditions, as well as practical courses and online guidance videos.
  • The Avalanche Advisory Service provides detailed information about snow conditions and the potential for avalanches. 

Air activities

  • Civil Aviation Authority: all activities in the air such as skydiving, paragliding and aeroplane-related activities are regulated in New Zealand by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and can only be undertaken by certified providers.

Weather forecasts

  • MetService provides the official weather forecasts and warnings for New Zealand, including different forecasts for towns and cities, rural, marine and surf, mountains and parks.

Personal Locator Beacons

  • Beacons - all you need to know about purchasing, registering and hiring personal locator (distress) beacons.

Visitor Information Centres 

  • iSITE: New Zealand's official visitor information network with over 80 i-SITEs nationwide.

Emergency contacts

In a serious emergency dial 111 and ask for the Police.

Note: many outdoor areas may not have cellphone coverage. You need to take more than one form of communication with you, and preferably a personal locator beacon (PLB).

Issuing a mayday call from a boat

If you have a VHF radio, call Channel 16 (the international channel for maritime distress) and issue a Mayday Call by saying "mayday, mayday, mayday", stating the name of your vessel and your location. Repeat this three times. Provide details of the emergency if possible. Continue calling until you get a response. 

General enquiries

Website 

AdventureSmart is managed by the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council (NZSAR). Please contact the organisation listed above for specific information about recreational activities in New Zealand. For general enquiries about the AdventureSmart website, contact: info@adventuresmart.nz

Facebook

Follow AdventureSmart New Zealand on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventuresmartnz

Media 

Information for media can be downloaded here. 

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