Carterton travel guide

Carterton acts as a secondary service town to Masterton and is famous in spring for its daffodils (first planted in 1920). Although not as aesthetically pleasing as its neighbouring settlements, it is perhaps worth a stop to see the Paua Shell Factory and use the town as an access point to the Mount Dick Viewpoint and the Tararua Forest park at Waiohine Gorge.

Sporting your new paua shell earrings and key rings, and provided the weather is fair, you can then go and see one of the best views in the Wairarapa, from Mount Dick. At the southern end of town turn into Dalefield Road which heads straight towards the hills like a never-ending runway. At the very end of the road keep going and just before its terminus look for a farm track on the left. This track, which is negotiable without a 4WD (just), goes about 3 km up to a viewpoint; 14 km total.

The trip to Waiohine Gorge (22 km) at the entrance to the Tararua Forest Park is well worth it for the scenery itself, let alone the walks on offer and the heart-stopping swing bridge, one of the longest in New Zealand. The road is signposted just south of the town on SH2. Eventually an unsealed road connects you with the riverbank which gradually rises high above the river gorge. At the road terminus you can embark on a number of walks from one hour to several days, almost all of which involve the initial negotiation of the swing bridge which traverses the gorge at a height of about 40 m. If you do nothing else at Waiohine, a few trips back and forth on the bridge is great fun. Although it is perfectly safe, jelly has less wobble.