Holidaymakers flock to Temuka each summer. They're drawn by the host of attractions within easy reach of Temuka, from one of New Zealand's best and prettiest golf courses to some of the finest trout and salmon fishing in the world.
Temuka Accommodation
The Angler's Paradise
Anglers from all over the world have long been drawn to Temuka by its reputation for fine fishing rivers, especially where the Rangitata and Opihi meet the vast Pacific Ocean. While the main attraction is the magnificent quinnat salmon, whose spawning run lasts from November through to April, the whole area is also famous for its excellent trout fishing and variety of nearby waterways.
Sea-run trout and salmon are caught in season, while Temuka is also an ideal central base for those wishing to fish the mighty Waitaki river to the south, the Rakaia to the North, or the fabled lakes of the Mackenzie Country and the Waitaki Basin. The required licences are readily available, as are experienced guides.
Richard Pearse
Pioneer aviator Richard Pearse, Temuka's most famous son, was a genius by any standards, though it only earned him the nicknames among locals of "Mad Pearse" or "Bamboo Dick", the latter because of his penchant for using bamboo in the construction of his flying machines.
Doubt remains over whether the shy young farmer achieved powered flight just before or just after the Wright Brothers in the first years of the 20th century. Only a few excited neighbours watched in 1903 or 1904 as Pearse taxied his home-built machine into position, opened up the throttle, lifted off, and flew a short distance before landing ungracefully on a gorse hedge.
His aircraft was built on his farm using scrap metal and hand-made tools. It had a steerable tricycle under-carriage, variable pitch airscrew, and a power to weight ratio better than any aircraft designed for years afterwards by planmakers with far greater resources. Click here for more information about Pearse's flights.
