An afternoon with the inn crowd at Scotts Ferry

Scotts Ferry residents Frank Rout, Paul Hubbard and Ross Blier make the most of the quiet village. Photo/ Bevan Conley

As part of our Summer Series of regular features, Chronicle reporters have been visiting some of the less well-known spots in the region. This week, Zaryd Wilson checks out Scotts Ferry.

Scotts Ferry isn't even on the map.

Not Google Maps anyway, but that's probably why its 100 or fewer residents are there.

The southern most point of the Rangitikei District, Scotts Ferry is small settlement of about 50 houses (40 occupied fulltime), 20km southwest of Bulls.

The settlement sits alongside last stretch of the Rangitikei River before it tips into the Tasman Sea, where residents fish from the beach.

A river that is now held off by a stop bank since the settlement was almost wiped off the map following the Manawatu floods in 2004.

That's where the nickname residents have given to the village came from.

Scotts Ferry is known to locals as the Inn Village on account of each property being named something Inn; Noth Inn, Hubs Inn, Bowl Inn, Chill Inn.

"This place was wasted and the story was the Government were going to bowl it, knock Scotts Ferry off the map," resident Frank Rout says.

"Bill Gray was here and they all kicked up about it and wanted to come back. So when they came back they were back in - so they made the inn signs."

Fancy a fishing trip? Photo / Bevan Conley

Bill Gray is a long-time resident and was the settlement's unofficial spokesperson until he handed those duties to Frank.

Frank and his wife Vicki run the camp ground and have been in the village for about eight years.

He was in the middle of the Parewanui Rd which runs from Bulls to the coast when the Chronicle arrived on a Friday afternoon.

"Come on I'll introduce you to Bill Gray," Frank says. He heads off with Ross Blier and Paul Hubbard who he rounded up to be in a photo.

"You can walk down the middle of this road, you see? Couldn't do that in Whanganui."

Vicki Rout runs the Scotts Ferry camp ground with her husband Frank. Photo/ Bevan Conley

There's a shed along the way with another inn sign: Volunteer Inn.

"That's our fire brigade," Franks says. "We've got two trailers with tankers and we can put out the odd fire."

Frank walks around Bill's house calling out to him but he's not home so John Gibbs across the road gets the job of explaining the appeal of Scotts Ferry.

John was working on engine parts in his shed and preparing to host a village Christmas party the next day.

"We normally have a whitebaiters do at the end of whitebaiting," he says.

"But this year we didn't catch enough whitebait so we're having a street party here at our place on Saturday night. Just cos there's a few people who have moved in during the year."

John Gibbs says people enjoy Scotts Ferry because it is cheap and quiet. Photo/ Bevan Conley

John's been in Scotts Ferry a long time and gets it.

"It's quiet I think, eh? It's not too dear. Anywhere else is so blimmin' expensive isn't it. It's too big eh?"

"There's a lot more younger ones here now than there was. Like, when we were here in the early 80s they were all older retirees. Which has made it a bit more lively if you know what I mean."

Scotts Ferry's famous son is Chris Amon, the Formula 1 driver who died in 2016.

Amon had 11 podium finishes between 1963 and 1976 and is considered to be one of the best F1 drivers not to win a grand prix.

"There's a house sort of back in the pines there," John says.

"That was Chris's there. He built that in about the late 70s I reckon. We were here when he knocked that up."

Welcome to Scotts Ferry. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Victoria Ransom is Scotts Ferry's famous daughter, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who sold her social marketing application Wildfire to Google in 2012 for a reported $450 million and was named one of

Fortune

magazine's most powerful women entrepreneurs.

Olivia Rostron, Renee Greer, Benjamin Rostron and Anthony Rostron with Blue the dog came from Feilding for a day at the Scotts Ferry beach. Photo/ Bevan Conley

You can go on to fame and fortune from Scotts Ferry. Or you can stay and live the kind of life people come here for.

"I have eggs so if someone gives us a nice broccoli I can give them some eggs," Vicki Rout says.

"Frank's a mechanic so if anyone gets stuck we've got a tractor he tows everyone out.

"It's just amazing."

Each property in Scotts Ferry has its own 'Inn' sign. Photo/ Bevan Conley