Kiwiana capital: Road trips to Ōtorohanga

Ōtorohanga offers the chance to immerse oneself completely in the seemingly endless depths of nostalgia that are encapsulated in one word: Kiwiana. Photo / Waikatonz

Back on the road for his classic Kiwi road trip series, in Ōtorohanga, Peter Dragicevich fills his gumboots with Kiwiana.

For many of us who grew up in New Zealand before international travel became mainstream, there is something innately nostalgic about the summer road trip. Sepia-tinged memories of Dad loading the boot with Tetris-like precision and Mum filling the chilly bin with leftover Christmas ham come flooding back even before the key is in the ignition.

In this column, we've covered plenty of small-town gimmicks designed to lure passing motorists out of their cars and into local businesses, but none comes close to the ambition of Ōtorohanga. Not content with the bait of a solitary roadside Big Thing, canny Ōtorohanga offers the chance to immerse oneself completely in the seemingly endless depths of nostalgia that are encapsulated in one word: Kiwiana. Hence the main street is festooned with images of Buzzy Bees and pavlovas, and an entire flock of colourfully painted wooden butterflies have left their usual roosts at the front of houses to congregate on a street corner.

The main street is festooned with images of Buzzy Bees, pavlovas and more. Photo / Waikatonz

"New Zealand's Kiwiana Town" lies at the heart of the King Country, on the main route between Taranaki and the big cities to the north. Tourism-wise, Ōtorohanga's main claim to fame is as the gateway to the Waitomo Caves. But the town has its own bona-fide tourist attraction, too, being home to the first nocturnal Kiwi House, which recently turned 50.

Park near the train station to avail yourself of the two pit-stop essentials straight away: well-kept public toilets and a decent coffee. The Kiwiana theme extends to the toilet block, with local toilet terms painted on the exterior (wharepaku, loo, bog, can, dunny etc.) and Kiwiana images on the tiling. Ōtorohanga Station was built in 1924 in the instantly familiar style of the times, under the direction of chief railway architect George Alexander Troup (who was also responsible for Dunedin's magnificent bluestone station building). Inside, Origin Coffee has been brewing ethically sourced single-origin blends for 24 years. What could be more Kiwi than a town of barely three thousand people having its own boutique coffee roastery?

Kiwiana is laid on with a spade along the covered Ed Hillary Walkway which connects the station to the main street. Here you'll find display boxes on themes such as "Kiwi slang", "8-wire" and "Ches'n Dale".

Kiwiana is laid on with a spade along the covered Ed Hillary Walkway which connects the station to the main street. Photo / Waikatonz

As you pop out on to Maniapoto St you'll see, directly ahead of you, in front of the i-SITE, two large carved wooden pou featuring figures from local Māori history. Across the lawn are the stone faces of Parehuia and Kahira, the sisters who once owned this particular piece of land. Ōtorohanga is in the rohe of Ngāti Maniapoto, with six marae in the vicinity and a population that is over 40 per cent Māori.

In front of the i-SITE Ōtorohanga are two oversized kiwi. Photo / Waikatonz

We previously said that Ōtorohanga didn't rely on a single gimmicky Big Thing. In fact, there are at least three. There's a giant corrugated-iron pūkeko in a park to the south and, here, in front of the i-SITE, two oversized kiwis. Pause to poke your head through the holes in the brightly colourful sign beside the kiwi to lend your face to the bodies of a Buzzy Bee and a kiwi in All Blacks kit.

Across the road, friendly Ō Cafe is our pick of the local eateries. Inside there are photos of old Ōtorohanga and a large sign telling three different stories associated with the town's name – which is commonly translated as "food for a long journey".

Continue north under the flower baskets lining pretty Maniapoto St. The small park at the corner of Ranfurly St is filled with war memorials and magnificent mature trees, along with a bronze sculpture of a bowler hat, Te Rohe Pōtae, acknowledging the creation of the King Country by King Tāwhiao (read all about it on the explanatory plaque).

Turn on to Kakamutu Rd where you'll come to an assemblage of heritage buildings which together form the free Ōtorohanga Museum: a 1912 courthouse, an 1896 police lock-up, St Bride's Anglican Church from 1908, and a purpose-built pavilion containing a roughly 200-year-old tōtara waka discovered under gravel and sand in 2002.

Cut across the sports fields to the famous Ōtorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park for that classic Kiwiana experience of peering through the gloom for a glimpse of our most reticent icons. A highlight of the complex is the walk-through aviary featuring chattering kākāriki and fearless tuatara but, if you don't have the time to justify the admission charge, you may get lucky and spot one in the enclosures lining the car park.

If the road trips of today are fodder for the nostalgia of the future, perhaps our yellow-striped Covid signs will make the Kiwiana cut in years to come.

For more things to do in the area, visit waikatonz.com

Check traffic light settings, vaccine requirements and Ministry of Health advice before travel. covid19.govt.nz