A short distance east of the town of Dannevirke, in the southeastern portion of New Zealand’s North Island, lies the Ngapaeruru Scenic Reserve. I came across it quite by accident while exploring during the autumn (May) of 1996. I’m not sure if the location in my photo is actually within the Reserve itself, but I was able to identify the waterway as the Ngapaeruru Stream. When I first saw this peaceful scene, I thought that the white animals on the bank at the left were sheep, but they are, in fact, birds.
krikitarts 
Beautiful place!
Wow, it looks so peaceful. I would love to visit there!!! I really like the curves in this photo because they help to give you the sense of motion in the stream. Nice job!
I heartily agree. I’d love to visit it again, but next time I’ll take a picnic lunch and my fly rod!
Love that winding river..
Yup, that’s what first caught my eye. I drove carefully back and forth along the ridge road until I found the perspective I was envisioning. I’d really love to visit it again, but it’s a bit out of the way…
Lovely image Gary. I haven’t been there yet, I’ve just showed this post to Calum, my Kiwi husband, so he will take me there soon ;-)
It looks to be a bit more than 200 km from Wellington and about 30 km southeast from Dannevirke. Have you found it on your maps? Please let me know when you do go, and please send me a new image or two–sure wish I could tag along with you! It really caught my imagination, and I subsequently found out that a dear friend of the family, who now lives near Wanganui, grew up near there and immediaely recognized the spot when he saw my photo. What a small world!
Now thats a name for a place.. love the ‘S’ curve in the pic. Thanks for pointing out the birds.
Yes, the Maori names are quite a study. As I understand it, they didn’t have a true written language; the British settlers developed it phonetically. Many New Zealanders (and most visitors) pronounce an initial “Ng” in a place name (it’s fairly common) like an “N,” but if you listen closely to a native Maori, speaker, it’s actually made with the back of the tounge and therefore much closer to the “ng” sound made when saying “going” or “coming.” The double “ru” on the end is usually simplified into one, so the generally accepted pronunciation would be something very close to “ngah-pah-ay-ROO.”