- This is a private tour, no other passengers

- Minimum 2 adults per booking

- Maximum 4 passengers

- Includes morning and afternoon tea

- BYO lunch, optional $25pp packed lunch available

- Duration up to 13 hours

- Includes 15% NZ Goods & Services Tax

Payment can be made direct on the day with credit cards, eftpos or cash.

We can stop off at a suitable cafe / bakery after pickup for clients to purchase their own lunch.

Different start times can be arranged by request where possible. Pick-ups at local accommodation by prior arrangement.

HISTORY

Kāi Tahu believe that Oteake, 'place of the ake', is named for the ake ake: Olearia avicenniaefolia, a conspicuous shrub daisy found in the park. Oteake is also the indigenous name for both the Kye Burn and a stream on the other side of the range.

Oteake was important to tangata whenua from coastal Otago kāika/settlements as mahika kai—places where food was obtained. Weka were hunted and plants gathered. Stone quarries in the upper Manuherikia are further evidence of iwi activity.

Oteake’s European history began when pastoral leases were issued throughout the South Island’s high country in the 1850s, creating large lease holdings such as Hawkdun, Omarama, Otekaike and Morven Hill stations. Over time they were subdivided, and more recently, through tenure review and property purchase, have become Oteake Conservation Park.

The park shows evidence of gold mining with a network of water races, prospecting pits, hut sites and alluvial mining sluicings. Buster Diggings, a spectacular sculptural landform created by alluvial gold mining, was once New Zealand’s highest altitude goldfield at 1200 m.

History information credit, DOC

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Big, remote adventure
• Quartz pinnacles
• Buster diggings
• Mt Kyeburn and 360 views
• Historic Naseby
• Danseys Pass Hotel
• Exclusive and extremely private
• Genuine kiwi experience
• Visit an area most people never see
• Ample of time allowed for photography

NATURE AND CONSERVATION

Within Oteake, Otago species often reach their northern limits and similarly, Canterbury species reach their southern limits. The park protects numerous communities, including threatened plants: cypress hebe, native broom – coral and dwarf – Ranunculus acraeus and scree pea. The dominant vegetation is narrow-leaved tussock, found in a wide range of altitudes and situations.

Oteake’s diverse habitat hosts a range of bird species, from grey warbler/riorio in the shrublands to threatened, braided riverbed species: banded dotterel/tuturiwhatu, black-billed gull/karoro, black-fronted tern/tarapiroe and occasional black stilts/kakï.

Oteake is an oasis for lizards, including various skink and gecko species, many of them threatened or uncommon. Invertebrates include moths, grasshoppers, weevils and spiders – in alpine areas they often reach giant sizes.

information credit, DOC