The Ida Valley lies east of the Manuherikia Valley in Central Otago, New Zealand. At an altitude of around , the 40 km long flat and wide valley is a relatively dry region with cold winters and hot summers, much like the rest of Central Otago. Most agricultural production in the Ida Valley is lamb, including

merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

, and stud cattle. The valley is named after th
Idaburn
Idaburn flows from Mount Ida in the Ida Range, through the northern section of the Ida Valley, breaks through Raggedy Ridge through the Poolburn Gorge and into Manuherikia River. The Idaburn is joined by the Pool Burn (which drains the valley's southern section) shortly before entering the Poolburn Gorge. The largest settlement in the sparsely populated Ida Valley is

Oturehua The township of Oturehua is in the Ida Valley of the Maniototo, in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement stands at 500 metres above sea level, some 25 kilometres from Ranfurly, to which it is connected by both road ...

, a small village at the northern end. Other localities include "Moa Creek", "Poolburn", "Ida Valley" and "Idaburn" which are groups of a few houses and farms rather than villages. Poolburn is the location of th
local full primary school
The Ida Valley Omakau Road leads through much of the valley, starting at the locality Idaburn beside State Highway 85 at the northern end, through Oturehua, the Ida Valley locality towards the centre, the Poolburn locality at the southern end and on to

Omakau Omakau (sometimes spelled Ōmakau) is a settlement in Central Otago, New Zealand, located between Alexandra and Ranfurly on the northwest bank of the Manuherikia River. The smaller settlement of Ophir is located on the opposite bank, three kilo ...

in the Manuherikia Valley, also on State Highway 85.

Tourism

The valley has a rich gold mining heritage, with remnants of mines and workings on display in and around Oturehua. The

Otago Central Rail Trail The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre Rail trail, walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand. A pioneering project for New Zealand, the successful rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail umbrella or ...

leads through much of the Ida Valley from Idaburn through to the Poolburn Gorge, a scenic section of this cycle trail encompassing two

viaducts A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

as well as two tunnels. Local operators provide bike hire and coach transport for day trips of varying length between Oturehua and Omakau. Oturehua also provides accommodation options for multi-day bike trips on the rail trail.

The Power Of The Dog

Braeside, a 5500 hectare sheep and cattle farm in the Ida Valley, owned by brothers Al and Graeme McKnight and Philippa Pope, was used for the filming of the movie The Power of the Dog, which starred

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awar ...

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a breakthrough with his role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subsequently portra ...

Kodi Smit-McPhee Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in '' The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). He provided the voice of the title character in stop-motion animations ...

and

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor. In film he is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's ''Nashville'', E. J. Bellocq in Louis Malle's ''Pretty Baby'', and Mickey in Alan Rudolph's '' Choose Me.'' ...

. Director

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...

chose the venue as the sparsely populated, grassy plains and rocky mountains of Central Otago matched Montana, where the movie was set. Pre-production preparation included construction of a Western-style barn, homestead, cattle corral, cowboy quarters and saloon. The movie was nominated for twelve

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

in 2022 and

was awarded the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...

Climate

References

{{Central Otago Populated places in Otago Valleys of Otago Central Otago District The Maniototo