Motatapu River Picnic

In an increasingly fast paced and commercial lakes area, there are still a few unspoiled corners of raw South Island beauty to take a simple picnic and dip in the river, and this is one of them.

Motatapu River is signposted on the Mt Aspiring Road at Glenhu Bay. There is nothing here besides a gravel road and a river and a whole lot of mountains in the background and that is the whole point.

The vicinity however is rather exciting for sportspeople and adrenaline junkies, access to the legendary Hospital Flat rock climbing and bouldering area is on the road in, as is the Diamond Lake track. The Motatapu River Track also starts here and there is a good walk up the gorge or rafting and kayaking. For cyclists, there is an intrepid cycle race every March.

All the nearby attractions aside; at the two picnic areas by the bridge, the only thing to do is relax and maybe swim.

Image credit: By ambo kangaroo, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60359630