Matiere
Photo by itravelNZ®

Walking the banks of the Ōhura River

Matiere in the King Country is not a busy place. You wouldn’t go there looking for hustle and bustle, or for cold-pressed lattes. But what you can do there now is walk along the riverbanks of the Ōhura River. You might spot rainbow and brown trout, or one of the many eels that make the river their home.

You can walk there now because we have created 10.7 km of new recreational access along the banks of both sides of the river.

Two years ago, an overseas investor bought land which the river bisects. That gave us the opportunity to propose this new public access to the Overseas Investment Office which makes recommendations on such land purchases.

Since then we have worked to create several esplanade strips along the river. An esplanade strip is a legal easement over the land on the edge of the water. These esplanade strips are 20 metres wide. They attach to the landholder’s title and move with the water margin.

Previously, this stretch of Ōhura River had no public access except at a few points where it intersected with legal road. Such a remote spot is unlikely to ever be overrun with tourists. But it does join the growing network of public access to the New Zealand outdoors.

And, although Matiere does not have cold-pressed latte, it does have a Cosmopolitan Club where you can buy a drink or a meal after you explore the river.