Queenstown's Deer Park Heights reopens to public after 11-year break

Queenstown's iconic Deer Park Heights is opening its gates to the public for the first time in 11 years. 

The high country farm has been featured in many Hollywood movies, including in some of the most iconic scenes in The Lord of the Rings

The 800-hectare working deer farm was a popular tourist attraction for decades, having been in owner Mike Mee's family since the 1960s.

"The Lord of the Rings was really big for us at the beginning of the century, and we had Pete's Dragon and we had one of the Wolverine movies," he said.

News of the park's reopening delighted locals.

"Just amazing, just fantastic. I'm so grateful to the Mee family for opening it again to the public," one person told Newshub.

There's now a plan to protect the farm - no buses or commercial guides are allowed.

"We've decided to put in a booking system so that we don't have too many people up here, and we want to protect the quality of the product and we really want it for people and families," Mee said.

The park officially reopened to the public last week.