Idaburn Dam: High Country Reservoir and Recreation
Idaburn Dam lies just southwest of Oturehua in the Ida Valley, along the Ida Valley–Omakau Road. It serves as a small storage and flow control reservoir for the local Idaburn water supply, and is a popular local spot for picnics, fishing, and, when cold enough in Winter, ice-based recreation.
Seasonal highlights & cultural use
During the summer, Idaburn makes a pleasant picnic destination with water, trout fishing opportunities, and quiet surroundings. In colder months, when the surface can freeze, it occasionally hosts curling bonspiels. From the roadside car park, it is a short walk around the edge of the pond to some basic facilities, including steps down to the water level. You can continue to walk south, up to a cliff edge above the pond of what would have been a steep-sided gorge. The views are exceptional from there.
Te Ara o Kōpūwa
On the far side of the road, you can discover an interesting modern Māori artwork: a 3.6 metre steel structure that sits along Transpower’s Roxburgh to Livingstone powerline and the Otago Rail Trail. It was designed and implemented as a partnership between the power company and iwi.
The artwork tells the Ngāi Tahu legend of Te Ara o Kōpūwai. Kōpūwai was a fearsome giant who roamed the high country near the Clutha River, with a pack of monstrous, two-headed dogs. He terrorised Central Otago, capturing people on hunting parties from the coast and eating them. In one instance, he kept a girl named Kaiamio as a slave, but she outwitted him and escaped along the Clutha River / Te Matua towards the coast. Kōpūwai was enraged and attempted to swallow the entire river to capture her, drying the landscape. She escaped anyway, then returned with her relatives, who trapped and killed Kōpūwai. He became the Obelisk / Kōpūwai rock on the Old Man Range, while her courage restored the river and the land.
How to Get There
From Oturehua, drive along Ida Valley–Omakau Road, then park next to the pond access on the side of the road. Te Ara o Kōpūwa is located opposite, with additional parking available.
Nearby places to visit also include Hayes Engineering Works, Golden Progress Mine, Moa Creek, Falls Dam, Poolburn Reservoir and Upper Manorburn Reservoir.
