Track facts:
- 4km
- 45min-1hour
- Easy track but loose gravel so trail shoes recommended
- Kid friendly
- Dogs on leashes and horses welcome
This gem of a walk is found just outside Marton, a small rural town of 5,000 in the Manawatu, only a 35min drive from Whanganui or Palmerston North. To get there, drive to the centre of Marton, then head north on Wellington Road, which turns in to Tutaenui Road. Keep going until there’s an intersection with a left turn & straight over a one way bridge. Cross the bridge, and the carpark is right there on the left hand side. You should be able to spot the dam from here.
Tutaenui Reserve and Walkway was officially opened on 10 October 2020, so still has a very new feel to it. I’m going to claim that we are likely some of the first out-of-towners to visit since we visited only 4 months after the opening (and stumbled upon it quite randomly).
The block of land (originally pine forest) was donated to the public by local residents David Smith and George Death (what a name!) and work began in 2016 to create what is now a great walkway. About 700 volunteers hours and an incredible 27,000 native trees have been put in to date. Many of these trees were donated by Matariki Tu Rākau, (a living memorial programme and part of the NZ government’s 1 Billion Trees programme aiming to plant a billion new trees between 2018 and 2028) with 1,590 trees planted to acknowledge the contribution of past and present New Zealand Defence Force personal.
Maree Gurney & Cath Ash also led a trapping programme to rid the ecosystem of all sorts of predators (stoats, hedgehogs, rats, mice etc) so the native wildlife is starting to thrive.
The walk itself is a loop track that winds its way around the reservoir lake. It is almost-flat with only very manageable small hills to climb. At the moment there is very little shade (although we spotted lots of baby native trees that will one day provide awesome shade), although a nice breeze blew through so it wasn’t unbearable hot.
There are a number of picnic tables around the lake, so take your pick for a quick break and bite to eat if you have little ones (or if you just like a snack break). If I lived closer I could imagine myself having date night picnic dinners at a favourite table often. (Fish n chips at the reservoir anyone?)
There are beautiful views of the lake-like water feature, with the Tararua ranges in the distance. We spotted a number of species of bird enjoying the lake and enjoyed the peace and quiet of this little reserve, only seeing one other person while we were there.
I would definitely recommend this walk to anyone in the area (I might even come back and run it to train for some trail runs later in the year)
Congrats to the Rangitikei District Council & Marton locals on this wonderful achievement- we certainly appreciate all the hard work that went into creating this natural space we can all enjoy. There feels like more work is happening, and we will definitely make sure to visit again in a few years when the trees have grown & the wildlife has had time to really take off.
Happy hiking/exploring
Xx
Moochelle