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A District to Explore

Explore Waimate District

Visit the beautiful Waimate District in the central South Island of New Zealand, and explore hills, rivers, lakes and small country towns. Get off the beaten track and explore our rural heartland. 

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TASTE

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EVENTS

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STAY

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VISIT

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LIVE

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Discover

 

Waimate's Silo Art

 

 

Heritage

Waimate’s past as a food-gathering hub for Maori, and later as a frontier milling town on the edge of the forest is easy to connect with by following self-guided walks and visiting the district’s historic sites.

The further you go, the more you’ll know! Moa, rock art, saw milling, churches, and great characters are all part of our story.

 

 Wild influence

Waimate's wallabies

 

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Plan your trip

A lot of the best things to do in the Waimate District cost nothing, or very little. There are heaps of family friendly activities.

  • You can run, bike or hike on the many shared use tracks. 

  • Check out the silo art, and other street murals.

  • Picnic in our parks.

  • Go fishing at Hook Beach. 



 

Getting here

 

 

 

 

 

Our stories

Get up close and personal with the people, places and things that make Waimate District such a unique and welcoming part of the world. Find out what the locals love about living here, get the inside info on the best places to take your kids fossil hunting, and discover some of the great products made, farmed and grown here. 

 

Freedom to ride

Waimate MTB Tracks

 

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Connect with us

Explore Waimate District is on Facebook and Instagram, we can feature your photos if you tag us #explorewaimatedistrict.

The best activities in the Waimate District cost nothing...apart from energy.  Get the whanau together and explore rivers, hills, lakes and sea.  Check out the website in our bio and plan your trip. 📸 : @alicia_mabey - nice effort team, and thanks for letting us share 🤩
Kelcey's Bush walking track in the Waimate District NZ.  There are two tracks, one flat that crosses streams where you'll likely get wet feet!  And the waterfall track that climbs upwards to this amazing waterfall and a lookout over the native bush. 😍 📸 : @the_inkmoth
Waimate's painted silos in the autumn sunrise.  #waimate #siloart 📸 amazing photo by @jessisawanderer
The view from the top of the Whitehorse track...all the way out to the Pacific Ocean.  Learn more about Waimate's shared use tracks on the website in our bio. 📸 : @abbeygrace94 . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #waimate #whitehorsebigeasy #walkingtracksnz  #wonderful_places #neverstopexploring #liveoutdoors #southcanterbury #southisland #newzealand #exploremore #letsgosomewhere
Kelcey's Bush, one of the beautiful native bush walks in the Waimate District.  Be prepared to get wet feet! 📸 : @graeme__oughton . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #waimate #kelseysbush #nativebush #nativebirds #walkingtracksnz #southislandroadtrip #discovernz #beautifulnewzealand #capturenz # #beautifuldestinations #passionpassport
Family photo in front of Waimate's stunning silo art. 📸 : @team_smith6 . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #siloart #waimate #southcanterbury #streetartnz #southisland #southislandroadtrip #discovernz #explorenz #nzvacation #travelnz #nzmustsee #travelphoto #travelpics #globetrotter #travelblogger #travelphotography
Climb the hill and take in the views.....check out the walking tracks in the Waimate District on the website in out bio. 📸 : @gradyk . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict  #adventure #whitehorsebigeasy #studholmetracks  #explore #outdoors #hiking #discovernz #nzmustdo #southcanterbury  #getoutside #backpacking #southislandroadtrip
Meet Belinda, Dan, and master Flynn of the Makikihi Country Hotel.  These guys have been churning out amazing food, and hospitality to match, since taking over the reigns of the hotel.  The food though!  It's a must stop on State Highway 1 at Makikihi, south of Timaru, north of Waimate. 📸 : @makikihicountryhotel . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #makikihi #makikihicountryhotel #nzeats #nzfood #nzfoodblogger #southislandroadtrip #southisland #discovernz #nztravel #food #nzpub #meettheteam #gastrotravel
EnkleDooVery Korna offers the visitor a fascinating and unique experience. Visitors can wander at their leisure to view the wallabies in separate enclosures and have the opportunity to feed and photograph wallaby families and cuddle orphan baby wallabies when available. 📸 : @bstommie . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #waimate #handfeedwallabies #tamewallabies #nzmustdo #southislandtrip #southcanterbury #nztravelguide #nztravelblogger #backpackerguidenz
More street art coming our way courtesy of Transport Waimate and the talented Billy Scott! . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #waimate #watchthisspace #streetartnz #streetart #rugbyjerseys #southislandroadtrip #nztravelblogger #nztravelguide #nzmustsee #discovernz #discovertheroad #newzealandtrip #art #artist #artwork
Mist over the Hunters Hills, Waimate NZ. 📸 : @jessisawanderer . . . . . #explorewaimatedistrict #waimate #huntershills #whitehorsehill #southislandroadtrip #discovernz #travelphotography #capturenz # #travelblogger #traveltheworld #travelphoto
 

Let's get walking

Waimate's tracks and trails

 

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