Matiri Valley—gateway to spectacular landscapes

The Matiri Valley Road is the southernmost gateway to Kahurangi National Park. It gives access to some of the park’s most spectacular landscapes: The Hundred and Thousand Acre Plateaux.

In this article I am going to tell you about the first leg of a journey I made in December last year.

Overlooking Lake Matiri from Lake Matiri Hut

Matiri Valley Road

The turnoff to Matiri Valley is on State Highway 6, about 6 km northeast of Murchison by the Buller River bridge. The initial 7 km of road are sealed, the remaining 8 km are unsealed. Across the Matiri River bridge follow the Matiri West Bank Road sign. The last kilometre to the Matiri Carpark is on a badly potholed farm road. After rain the potholes fill up to large puddles and their depth is not always apparent. Drive carefully and leave farm gates as you find them (open or shut).

Beyond the Matiri Carpark the farm road continues for another 2 km to the West Branch Matiri River. This stretch is rugged and crosses several streams, and should only be attempted with a four-wheel drive vehicle.

Matiri Carpark to West Branch Matiri River

Since my car is a two-wheel drive, my tramp began at the Matiri Carpark. About a half-an-hour past the carpark I came across a small herd of cattle. Some of the “ladies” were quite friendly and seemed to enjoy having their photo taken—what made me think so? Well, they followed me, obviously keen to check out their photo on my camera…

The farm road was straightforward to follow, albeit quite mucky in places. It had been raining for a few days, and there was a lot of sodden dung all over the road and the potholes filled to the rim.

Nevertheless, the scenery made up for what was underfoot. The views up the valley and of the Matiri River were pleasant to the eye. It was a hot day and I regretted not having carried some extra water. Because of the ever-present dung I was reluctant to drink any water from the streams that run across the road in a few places.

Yet, I wasn’t far away from the waters of the much cleaner West Branch Matiri River, which I reached just under an hour after leaving the carpark.

Matiri Carpark

Cattle in Matiri Valley

Ford along four-wheel-drive track between Matiri Carpark and West Branch

Matiri Valley with Matiri River and Rain Peak (1320 m)

Matiri River (right) with West Branch (left)

West Branch Matiri River to Lake Matiri

I crossed the West Branch Matiri River near its mouth, where it was wide and about knee-deep (for a person of my height at six foot).

Old maps, such as the Kahurangi Parkmap 274–13 Edition 3 1997, show a cableway about 800 metres up the West Branch. This cableway in conjunction with a cage used to allow for a safe crossing when the river was high. Unfortunately this cableway cage has long been removed. The Topo50 map BR23 Murchison still shows the tracks that led to the cableway cage.

Across the West Branch, although still farmland, there was no sign of recent grazing and the track narrowed to a trail. The pastures were in full bloom, with grasses as tall as me, even towering above my head in places! Anyone who is allergic to pollen of introduced European grasses and consequently suffers from asthma or hay fever beware: Make sure you dose up on antihistamine well in advance!

About a kilometre north of the West Branch the valley narrows, and the track—still lined by pollen laden grasses—starts hugging the Matiri River bank. Soon the park boundary with a locked gate and stile is reached. The track then climbs past a waterfall and across a large slip well above a river bend. The track briefly rejoins the river bank before veering off into beech forest (no more grass pollen, yay!) followed by a steady climb towards Lake Matiri (by now you must have gathered that grass pollen are no friend of mine—ah-choo!).

Matiri River southwest of Lake Matiri

Scars of rockfalls southwest of Lake Matiri

Lake Matiri and Lake Matiri Hut

A landslide caused by the 1929 Murchison earthquake dammed the river and increased the size of Lake Matiri. The scars of some enormous rockfalls are still clearly visible to the southwest of the lake.

I could hear the quacking of ducks well before catching the first glimpse of the lake’s shore through the beech trees. The lake and a section of the river to the north and south are part of the Lake Matiri Wildlife Refuge.

Lake Matiri Hut is located well above the lake, with a nice outlook over part of the lake and straight up Matiri Valley. On my visit the hut was very clean and tidy. There was even a bag coal sitting outside.

Lake Matiri Hut

A cloudy morning at Lake Matiri

Lake Matiri and Bay Creek (about 20 minutes north of the hut) are good spots for a day visit. For experienced and well-prepared trampers, it’s here that the adventure begins: a trip to the Thousand Acre Plateau—and still counting…

Possibly related articles:

• Thousand Acre Plateau—and still counting…
• Huts might fly—and they do!
• Lodestone—drive, climb, view—all in a day’s work
• Stag Flat Shelter—replaced and relocated
• Belltown Manunui Hut—a prospectors’ camp a century on