INTRODUCTION

Have you ever wanted to find a place where your soul was soothed and your mind was at ease? Where the sky is a clear and vivid blue, the air clean and sharp and the space says "welcome" there's room for you and to spare.  Where Nature's palette drew magnificent tawny hillsides and grey-blue mountains, sculptured rock formations and vast open spaces.

When you visit the Maniototo that is just what you will find.  As you travel the Highway known as 85 from Dunedin, suddenly, out of the high, tussocky hills, you enter the sprawling plain that is the Maniototo. As you gaze around you your cares begin to lift , you breathe the clean, refreshing air and then spot the Taieri River winding its way slowly and contentedly over the plain, holding the promise of magnificent fish in quiet  hollows,  picnics on the river bank and leisurely kayaking or canoeing.  If you travel Highway 85 from the Alexandra end, this same sense of space and freedom is present as you arrive at the top of Blacks Hill and gaze down the Ida Valley towards the Hawkdun Range so well portrayed by Grahame Sydney, the artist touched with Maniototo magic. Surrounded by North Rough Ridge and the Raggedys, the Ida will share her secrets with you quietly and magically as you discover the history born of gold and the land

Travelling to your destination, solitude gives way to small towns with a quiet pace and friendly people who welcome you to their district.  So come, be our guest, where beauty abounds and history surrounds you in this timeless land.