Halfway between Blenheim and Nelson, where a bridge crosses the Pelorus River, there is a beautiful scenic reserve that has some of the most accessible examples of mature native forest in the Marlborough region.
Native tree species in the reserve include matai, kahikatea, rimu, totara and miro, as well as several varieties of beech. The forest undergrowth is rich with ferns, epiphytes, mosses and lichen.
Easy walks lead through forest glades, to a waterfall or up along a ridge to a 417 metre peak. Along the way you may see several species of native bird including the large native pigeon (kereru), bellbirds, tui and fantails.
The valley was the site of a massacre of the Ngati Kuia and Ngati Apa tribes by the Maori chief Te Rauparaha, who came from the North Island coast, west of Wellington. The first Europeans to arrive in 1843 found a few remaining Maori people producing flax for Te Rauparaha. The original route to Nelson went through the reserve site and over the Maungatapu Saddle. Later, the path that the road follows today was discovered, and a bridge was built across the Pelorus River around 1860. The Pelorus Bridge location was set aside for a future township, but in the early 1900s this was changed to preserve the area's natural beauty. The present bridge was built in the 1950s.
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