Discover Tarras: Wine, Trails and Gold-Rush History

In Tarras, wineries and dining go hand in hand with traces of gold mining and opportunities for outdoor activities. For planning your trip, you can consider these separately: you’ll find tastings and regional cuisine in town, some historic sites lie to the north, and there are trails and riverside spots along the Mata-au Clutha.

Wine, dining and appointments

Tarras Vineyards is a premium wine producer in Central Otago. Tastings and group tours are available by appointment. Maori Point Vineyard is an award-winning winery in Tarras. The Tarras Country Cafe serves country-style food, cabinet food and a wide selection of sweet treats. Local options range from visiting a winery to stopping for a meal at the cafe; bear in mind that visits to Tarras Vineyards need to be arranged in advance.

Church and gold-mining history

Ownership of the Tarras Community Church was transferred to the Tarras Community Church Charitable Trust in 2019. The aim was to preserve the church while also using it as a community facility. To visit, you can pick up the key from the Merino Store in Tarras Village. The church is home to 75 embroidered kneelers, featured in A Tapestry of Tarras. A visit therefore combines the church’s use as a community facility with a chance to see the embroidered pieces.

The historic sites north of Tarras also vary in distance and focus. Tarras Cemetery is two kilometres north of town and is believed to date from the 1880s, when the area was a significant gold-mining settlement. Nine Mile Historic Reserve is 22 kilometres north of Tarras. As a Department of Conservation camping and picnic area, it gives visitors the opportunity to explore nearby gold workings and other historic remains.

Come in Time Stamper Battery is 12 kilometres from Tarras Village and offers a rare, nearly complete picture of hard-rock quartz mining. Bendigo Historic Reserve, about 17 kilometres from Tarras, preserves further remnants of this mining activity, including mine shafts, tunnels, stone cottages, stamper batteries, machinery, water races, dams and pipelines. The historic area is also the starting point for six Department of Conservation walking tracks. Visitors interested in mining history will find both preserved structures and trails that begin at the historic site.

Riverside and nearby trails

The Mata-au Clutha forms the western boundary of Tarras. Along its banks are walking tracks, swimming spots, picnic areas and opportunities for freedom camping. The trails in Lindis Valley offer routes for walkers and mountain bikers and can be reached via State Highway 8 between Tarras and Omarama. Upper Lindis Valley also offers opportunities for walking, cycling, picnicking and fishing; most trails start 10 to 25 kilometres from Tarras Village.

The Thompson Gorge Track offers a different kind of route: this 30-kilometre trail is designed for mountain bikes and four-wheel-drive vehicles, and its starting point is 12 kilometres from Tarras Village. These details help distinguish the nearby options—from trails for walkers and mountain bikers in Lindis Valley to the longer route for mountain bikes and four-wheel-drive vehicles. Tarras Golf Club welcomes green-fee players, adding to the range of activities in town.

Explore more destinations: Lindis Valley, Omakau, Chatto Creek, Lauder, Clyde, Millers Flat, Queensbury, Alexandra

For the wider travel overview: Central Otago District.