Photography

Capture our history, our heritage, our culture, and our land.

Rangitīkei is a photographer's playground - our landscape is made for photography.

The Rangitīkei River winds beneath towering white papa cliffs, back-country roads disappear over rolling farmland, and the Ruahine Ranges rise in the distance. Head west and the landscape eventually meets the wild West Coast. On a clear day, there are views stretching all the way to Ruapehu and Taranaki... And then the sun goes down.

Our *unofficial* dark-sky reserve

With small towns, wide-open farmland and plenty of country roads away from urban light, Rangitīkei gets properly dark at night. The kind of dark where the Milky Way makes an appearance and you realise just how many stars are hiding up there.

For astrophotographers, that means plenty of opportunities to find a dark patch of sky, set up the tripod and stay awhile. Try the elevated views around Taihape, Mount Curl Road between Hunterville and Marton, Dudding Lake near Turakina or the rural reaches in between.

Daylight isn't bad either.

Photograph the folds and textures of the papa cliffs around Mangaweka. Catch morning mist sitting low over the river valleys. Find an old woolshed on a back-country road, historic buildings in our small towns or the big skies and long horizons of the lower Rangitīkei.

The seasons change the picture too - frosty winter mornings, autumn colour, spring-green farmland and long summer evenings all bring something different.

You don't have to be a professional photographer to find a good shot here - you just have to stop the car.