WAIMATE DISTRICT official visitor guide we are here! waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 1 welcome CONTENTS Nestled at the foot of the rolling Hunter Plan and Book..................................................... 4 Hills, the Waimate District offers travellers Highlights............................................................ 5 a u n i q u e d e s t i n a t i o n o ff t h e b e a t e n t r a c k . Maps................................................................... 6 Wide spacious streets, valued heritage buildings, Events................................................................. 10 amazing street art, and beautiful parks and gardens Walking & Biking................................................. 12 create a relaxed and friendly environment. Wallabies............................................................ 30 You’ll be able to hand-feed wallabies, walk or cycle The Great Outdoors............................................ 31 through tranquil bush, hunt, fish and boat on the Nature................................................................. 33 stunning Waitaki lakes, ride horses, play golf, explore Golf..................................................................... 34 the natural abundance of the district, and take part in many fun-filled events and activities. Disc Golf............................................................. 36 Heritage.............................................................. 37 With spectacular scenery, accommodation options for Silo Art................................................................ 40 all genre of travellers and eateries to tempt any taste bud and an event calendar bursting with events, the White Horse Lookout.......................................... 41 Waimate District is the place to be. Parks and Reserves........................................... 42 Markets, Arts & Crafts........................................ 43 Destinations....................................................... 44 Welcome to the Waimate Food & Drink...................................................... 45 Camping............................................................. 51 District... enjoy your time Accommodation................................................. 53 here! Motoring ............................................................ 58 Distances & Drive Times.................................... 59 2 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 3 plan & book HIGHLIGHTS VISIT OUR INFORMATION CENTRE Get up close and hand feed WALLABIES. Visit a berry farm and sample fresh STRAWBERRIES, The Waimate Information Centre is the front door to our which Waimate are famous for! district's unique offerings and experiences. Be wowed with the panoramic view from the WHITE HORSE LOOKOUT and feel the adrenalin pumping as you We are the official source of visitor information for those mountain bike down ‘The Big Easy’. coming to the Waimate District. Camp on the shores of the magnificent WAITAKI LAKES, catch trout or salmon, jet boat or just kick back and enjoy Come and see us for quality, objective information and life! booking services. Our experienced staff can help you with your plans and/or enquiries ranging from accommodation, Enjoy a drop of LOCALLY PRODUCED CRAFT BEER at activities, attractions, events, restaurants and everything in one of the local bars or cafes. between. Sample LOCAL CUISINE at one of the many cafes and restaurants. Use this guide and talk to our friendly team so you can make Enjoy the company of tuis and bellbirds in the the most of your time in our unique part of New Zealand. NATIVE BUSH. Talk to the local experts and explore the best of the Waimate WALK OR CYCLE the network of tracks around the district. District. SWIM in our local outdoor heated swimming pool or bush waterfalls. • Trip planning • Must see sights Do a self-guided tour of the OLD WAIMATE CEMETERY to • Events learn about our early settlers. • Local souvenirs Get to know the stories behind those depicted on the • Activities WAIMATE SILOS. • Accommodation Play GOLF and enjoy country hospitality. Have a round of DISC GOLF at VICTORIA PARK. WAIMATE INFORMATION CENTRE Enjoy 150+ EVENTS throughout the year. A. Waimate Event Centre, 15 Paul Street, Waimate Explore the many PARKS and RESERVES in the district. P. +64 3 689 7771 E. [email protected] PATERSON’S COTTAGE 4 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 5 KEY Public dump station Information centre explore Campground Police station WAIMATE STREET MAP Public toilets Playground State Highway 82 To Waimate-Hunter Rd & Gunns Bush To White Horse & Kelseys Bush To Bathgates Rd (off Timaru Road) To Waimate Walkway & Big Easy MTB track To Kurow & Queenstown 6 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 7 KEY explore Camping Boating Fishing Campground Police stationStation Golf WAIMATE DISTRICT MAP Public toilets State Highway District Boundary State Highway 1 82 82 8 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 9 explore EVENTS WAIMATE 50 MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL JAN CALEDONIAN GAMES OCT WAIMATE 50 MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL Annual highland games complete with Two days of high octane, street racing as it athletics, cycling, highland dancing, piping was in the 50’s. and caber tossing. NOV WAIMATE A&P SHOW EVENT CALENDAR EVENT FEB WAIMATE RODEO Town meets country at this small rural show. CALENDAR EVENT Enjoy a country rodeo at its best with bucking bulls and broncos. DEC WAIMATE STRAWBERRY FARE A celebration of the humble strawberry THE VETERINARY CENTRE WHITEHORSE Waimate is famous for, with over 200 stalls. BIG EASY Mountain bike, walk or run The Veterinary WAIMATE CHRISTMAS PARADE Centre Whitehorse Big Easy. A colourful, festive parade celebrating the Christmas spirit. MAR MARCH HARE MOTOR CYCLE RALLY Largest motorcycle rally in the South Island CHRISTMAS IN THE SQUARE held over two days. A community celebration of Christmas complete with fireworks! APR PEST QUEST Hunters set their sights on pigs, wallabies, possums, deer and goats. While this is a list of the major events held over the year, many smaller events occur monthly. MAY WAIMATE WINTER POULTRY SHOW Check out waimate.org.nz for a complete list of events. Classy heritage poultry breeds strut their stuff! OCT WAIMATE SPRING SHEARS Rural life on the stage where national and international shearers compete. BOOKARAMA Thousands of books on offer over this week-long book sale. VETERNINARY CENTRE WHITEHORSE BIG EASY 10 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 11 explore ICON KEY Pages 14 - 29 of this guide outline the walking and mountain biking tracks within the Waimate District, and walking & include maps and detailed descriptions of each track. The key below describes each icon. biking Walking track Easy hiking track The Waimate District offers an awesome range of walking and biking tracks. Whether you like native bush and picturesque waterfalls, gentle tracks that meander along the Tramping track riverbank or steep challenging peaks that push you to the limit, there is something for all fitness levels and abilities. Advanced tramping track So what are you waiting for, Easiest cycling track get amongst it! Intermediate mountain biking track WALKING & BIKING WALKING WALKING & BIKING WALKING Advanced mountain biking track Expert mountain biking track Dogs allowed Dogs allowed on a leash No dogs allowed 12 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 13 WALKING & BIKING 15 14 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz WALKING & BIKING 1. BIG EASY TRACK 6. ROSEWOOD TRACK Time/Distance: 2 hours return, 6.7km Distance: 1km A shared mountain bike and walking track heads off to the right The Rosewood link track connects Wriggly Beast with Filthy of the White Horse walkway through a mixture of bush and Animal. Wide and non tecnical. One way. trees. The Rosewood Hill track is a connecting track between the Big This longer route to the White Horse monument has many Easy and Filthy Animal. Wide track with a challenging climb. deviations for mountain bike enthusiasts so always take care to Dual direction. look out for bikers coming both ways. There is an abundant number of tui, bellbird and kereru and the occasional New Zealand native falcon mostly in the wooded 7. WRIGGLY BEAST area of this track. Distance: 1km Starts with an easy flowing trail but soon changes into fun 2. DDT 1 downhill with berms and jumps. Machine-built with technical jumps off to the side for the more adventurous. Distance: 0.4km A dual direction single trail making for a difficult ascent or a technical descent. 8. FILTHY ANIMAL 3. DDT 2 Distance: 1.1km A fun, flowy, pumpy trail with technical jumps. Mostly downhill Distance: 0.78km so minimal peddling. One way. Flowy single track with berms and some jumps. Dual direction. 9. TWISTED MONSTER 4. DDT 3 Distance: 1.9km Distance: 0.38km Fun, fast and flowy machine-built trail featuring well made Short, sharp and flowy. Formed berms, rock garden and jumps. berms, rollers and table-top jumps. Starts off with a flat, rolling Dual direction. section, before heading into some switchbacks and a short WALKING & BIKING WALKING climb, after which the trail begins to descend. One way. & BIKING WALKING 5. WHITE HORSE WALKWAY Distance: 1.1km 10. FLYING FALCON The track climbs grassy slopes and then heads left over a style Distance: 0.3km. before joining an old logging track, through remnants of Totara forest and emerging into modern day Pine plantations. Fast techinal down hill. Gap jumps and flowing berms makes for an action packed ride. One way. The track then crosses over hill top grassland to reach the White Horse monument. 16 waimate.org.nz waimate.org.nz 17 11. POINT BUSH TRACK 16. BELLBIRD