Mike Yardley: Delving into the wonders of the Waitaki Valley

Wide open spaces and serenely undulating landscapes set quite the stage for summer holiday frolics. Sprinkle that setting with a spoil of unexpected gems and experiential treats, and the Waitaki Valley delivers in spades. It’s been a long time coming, but Waitaki’s latest accolades in Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel list should come as no surprise. Crowning the head of the Waitaki Valley and backdropped by the Southern Alps, the junction town of Ōmārama brims with distinction. Ōmārama is Māori for ‘place of light’, a pitch-perfect description for the big skies, clarity of the light and the starkness of the surrounding landscape.  

It’s also home to the bewitching glory of the Paritea Clay Cliffs. It’s one of the most popular geo-sites in the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark, just minutes from Ōmārama, on Henburn Road. This serrated geological wonder, complete with a slot canyon to shimmy through, feels like a mix of Utah and Petra as you size up the fluted shapes of the tall columns and the beautiful pastel colours. They are a grand collection of ‘bad land’ sharp pinnacles and ridges separated by steep and narrow ravines, reminiscent of giant organ pipes, thrusting up from the eroded cliff face.  

Deserve a little personal pampering? Treat yourself to the eco-friendly glamour of the Ōmārama Hot Tubs, where you’ve got a ringside seat on those soothing alpine vistas. This is wellness all wrapped-up in a wood-fired hot tub, by night and day. The ten private tubs have no chemicals added to the water. They are cleaned and refilled after each use, with water redeployed to irrigate the land. It’s a prime spot to bliss out. 

Ōmārama Hot Tubs. Photo / Mike Yardley 

If a little touring on two-wheels floats your boat, you’ll know that one of New Zealand’s great rides is the Alps2Ocean cycle trail. This colossal ride from Aoraki/Mt Cook to Ōamaru Harbour traverses over 300km and is our longest continuous cycle trail. Typically, it is completed over 5-7 days and I was struck by how many international tourists were hitting the pedals on this trail in October, with the mountain tops still cloaked in snow, cooling the air. Bike rental services are available throughout the valley, however like a well-prepared cub scout, I brought my bike down from Christchurch for a quick dabble on the trail.  

A cracking taster is Section 5: Ōmārama to Ōtemātātā. This 35km ride heads east down into the valley and edges the shoreline of Lake Benmore to Pumpkin Point and Sailors Cutting. This wildly popular boating, fishing and camping destination is the stuff of local legend. It’s deliciously picturesque – the perfect spot to roll out the picnic rug, along with encountering Benmore Dam and a spree of panoramic viewpoints, from Chain Hills lookout and the Benmore Peninsula.  

Lake Benmore is New Zealand’s largest artificial lake, created by the Benmore hydro-dam. Completed sixty years ago, it was New Zealand’s biggest ever construction project. The lake holds roughly 1.5 times the volume of water in Wellington Harbour! With its vivid blue colour and breathtaking hill country views, Lake Benmore is a peaceful haven, all year round. Even if you aren’t hitting the pedals, stretch your legs on the Benmore Peninsula Track, a 4km loop walk just up the hill, for elevated lake views, while Mt Cook shimmers in the distance. 

Benmore dam. Photo / Mike Yardley 

Arriving at Ōtemātātā, which was originally established as a construction town for the nearby power stations, I fuelled up at Ōtemātātā Best Dam Pub, a quintessential Kiwi experience. It’s the convivial, pulsing nexus of the community, adeptly operated by Brent and Kirsty Cowles. The pub menu is fawned over for its hearty fare, steeped in local produce. If you’re seriously famished the dish to slay you is the Mega Meat Feast – a sizzling platter of prime aged rump, a venison medallion, merino lamb rump, prawns, smoked salmon chowder, served with a side of fries & dressed salad.  

Next to the pub, the Ōtemātātā Wetlands trail is a magnificent lakeside circuit, shaded in vast stands of willows and Lombardi poplars. If you’re eager for more hydro-station hopping, the Te Akatarawa Road connects Ōtemātātā with the Aviemore power station, where another rolling medley of camping grounds bracket the banks of Lake Aviemore. Drive across the soaring Aviemore dam wall to rejoin SH83. Aviemore’s generators are the largest in New Zealand, producing enough electricity each year for about 120,000 New Zealand homes. 

A short hop down the highway, brings you to Lake Waitaki, the smallest and the oldest of the three man-made lakes, comprising the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme. The power station, which was built in the 1920s, looks like a forbidding Victorian behemoth that’s shuffled out of a Dickens novel.  Close to Kurow, I swapped my hydro lakes exploration for a spot of wine-tasting. Formally a service town for fortune seekers during the gold rush, it was the building of the Waitaki Dam and the commencement of the hydro-power scheme that accelerated Kurow’s growth.  

Lake Waitaki Dam. Photo / Getty Images

The town cradles its fair share of scenery and culture, not to mention proudly being the birthplace of Richie McCaw. The Kurow Museum, on the aptly named Bledisloe St, lustily showcases their favourite son’s rise to sporting stardom. Two doors down from the museum, the historic 1864 Kurow Hotel. Proudly painted in bright blue and yellow, it’s a two-storey tribute to one previous owner drinking DB, while the other preferred Speights. Take the 45-minute climb up Kurow Hill walkway for panoramic views across the river to the Hakataramea Valley. I’ll drink to that. 

Waitaki Valley wines are scooping up plenty of awards and accolades. Close to the 45th parallel, it’s one of New Zealand’s smallest and coolest wine-growing regions. The combination of ancient marine limestone soils and cool-climate, marginal growing conditions is akin to the great vineyards of Burgundy. Yet the wines are distinctly of this region. It is liquid geography. Those limestone rich soils, combined with the arid climate give rise to delicate tones. It differs to Central Otago wine, which is predominantly produced on schist soils. Frost remains a constant consideration to bookend the long growing season, placing winegrowing here close to the edge of viability.  

Some of Kurow’s time-honoured main street stores have been beautifully revitalised and repurposed, lending the town a Reefton-like vibe. Housed in the restored Kurow Post Office building, Valli Wine Bar. Valli was founded in 1998 by one of the region’s pioneering winemakers Grant Taylor, producing award-winning pinot noirs and white wines highlighting the sub-regions of Otago. Born and raised in Kurow, Grant is a hometown hero to rival Richie McCaw. Tasting flights have been choreographed with a focus on education as well as pleasure. Whether it be an understanding of vintage variations, winemaking decisions or the effect of terroir, you’ll glean so many insights while enjoying a tasting. It’s fascinating to discern the differences between their Waitaki wines and those from Gibbston, Bannockburn and Bendigo. I’ve long been a fan of Valli Pinot Noir but their delicious Waitaki Riesling is beautifully balanced with fresh citrus, a stony freshness and salinity that gives the wine great length. Central Otago Riesling switches out Waitaki’s salinity for hints of slate and flint.  

Clos Ostler wine and snack platter. Photo / Mike Yardley 

Later in the day, I met up with Clos Ostler’s viticulturalist, Timbo Deaker, a wine industry legend, who oversees several dozen vineyards across Waitaki and Central Otago. Managed by the luxury hospitality company the Lindis Group, Clos Ostler’s singular vineyard is set on a north-facing limestone escarpment near Duntroon, about 200 metres above sea level. The estate is planted predominantly to Pinot Noir, with smaller plantings of Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. The Lindis Group has just opened three vineyard suites, just above the vines, with sprawling valley and mountain views. With the braided Waitaki River moving past, a secluded stay here offers a truly novel opportunity to experience the landscape that shapes their vintages.  

Each off-grid suite pairs contemporary design with refined interiors, inspired by the colours, textures, and changing seasons of the Waitaki. Timbo led me through a gorgeous tasting of Clois Ostler’s wines. Caroline’s Pinot Noir has bagged so many global gongs, with aromas and flavours of wild strawberry, sweet cherry, thyme, clove, crayfish legs, and a silky-textured briny mineral finish. I’m not a regular chardonnay drinker, but I loved the aromas of white peach and ripe lychee, layered with subtle floral tones, and a faint mineral edge. 

Clos Ostler Vineyard Suites bedroom views. Photo / Tourism Waitaki 

Duntroon is the launch pad into the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark. As New Zealand's first and only UNESCO Global Geopark, it threads together the spell-binding natural landforms, abundant fossil finds and rich cultural history of the Waitaki Valley, which was under sea when Zealandia drifted away from Gondwana. The Vanished World Centre should be your first port call to get to grips with the barebones geological back-story, before free-roaming some of the 40 designated sites of significance that comprise the geopark. Anatini and the Valley of the Whales should top your hit-list. 

Also in Duntroon, the Flying Pig Café, ablaze in bright pink paint is hard to miss. Nor should you. Open for breakfast through to 4pm, their dine-in menu and café fare is all made on-site and will please all bellies. I stayed the night between Kurow and Duntroon, perched on a hillside at Valley Views Glamping, in Otiake. Opened nearly ten years ago by Amber and Patrick Tyrrell, it was the first destination to introduce glamping geodesic domes to New Zealand. Scattered around the site, they have seven geodesic domes including their latest addition, a 10-metre two-storey Grayson Peak dome with a mezzanine floor.  

Flying Pig café. Photo / Mike Yardley 

It is the largest domed glamping tent in New Zealand and I had the pleasure of a savouring a night inside this gloriously stylish and superbly furnished cavernous dome. It even comes with a self-contained toilet. Lustily swathed in a floor-to-ceiling panoramic bay window on the eastern side, you’ve got a grandstand view on Waitaki Valley from this lofty perch. I cranked up the woodfire and gazed in wonder at the sky full of stars, deep into the night. But best of all, after a comfy sleep, I awoke to the tangerine glow of the rising sun, gilding the valley. All the more reason to stay in bed and soak up the solar light show. This luxury glamping in excelsis.  

Every dome includes a super-king bed, down duvets, private decking, and valley views. The shared communal facility boasts a fully equipped kitchen and communal dining table. You can pre-book dinner and breakfast which I enjoyed with a gregarious bunch of cyclists from Oregon, traversing the Alps 2 Ocean Trail. Valley Views Glamping is proudly off the grid, resolutely solar-powered, and they are sticklers for sustainability, with 40 chooks adeptly dealing to the food scraps. Their water comes from a nearby spring, naturally filtered through limestone. It tastes sublime. Chatting to Amber, she remarked how many parents brings their kids here principally to detox. There is no wifi. It is a radiant place to rejuvenate and TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Awards have just ranked it as one of the world’s most unique places to stay. If you want to sleep somewhere a little different, it’s a wonderful place to savour a big deep breath with the Waitaki Valley.  

Daybreak at Valley Views Glamping. Photo / Mike Yardley 

Mike Yardley is Newstalk ZB’s resident traveller and can be heard every week on Saturday Mornings with Jack Tame.