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(external link) - 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(external link) - managing the conservation of New Zealand's nature, including information about walking/tramping/hiking tracks, wildlife management and hut management.

Water-based activities

• Watersafety New Zealand(external link) - provides significant resources and awareness relating to water-based activities, such as swimming.
• Surf Life Saving New Zealand(external link) - provides a national lifeguard service on selected beaches on behalf of central and regional government.

Boating activities

• Maritime New Zealand (external link)- 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(external link) - 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(external link) - 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(external link) - 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(external link) provides detailed information about snow conditions and the potential for avalanches. 

Air activities

• Civil Aviation Authority(external link): 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(external link) 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(external link) - all you need to know about purchasing, registering and hiring personal locator (distress) beacons.

Visitor Information Centres 

• iSITE(external link): 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(external link)

Media 

Information for media can be downloaded here [PDF, 1.3 MB]. 

Order AdventureSmart brochures

Organisations can request bulk quantities of AdventureSmart brochures. Please order these online. (external link)