North River is set at the head of the valley off Helmsdale Road, 10 kilometres northwest of the Northland village of Waipu in New Zealand. The North River name originally comes from Nova Scotia and arrived here in the late 1800's with Scottish families that first settled in Waipu after spending some 30 years settled in Nova Scotia. The property was originally settled by the McLean (Watson) family in 1879. The river that runs through the land here is called North River.
2 Hectares - where Ian & Anke live and where all the horse facilities are located, open stable, riding place, round pen, hay barn and tack shed.
The 'Horse Block': 8 Hectares - adjoining the home block, this is the main grazing area for the horses, some hay is also made off this land. About 3 Hectares of this land is covenanted with the QEII trust and is protected land. Riding is possible through the QEII land on the track that runs through it.
The 'Bush Block': 53 Hectares - a very private landlocked piece of land currently only accessible by horseback. The North River runs through the bush clad hills of this land, with about 3 or 4 Hectares of grazing land in the river valley itself. The horses graze this area once or twice a year to keep the grasses tidy. This block is part of a larger block (nearly 1000 Hectares) of native forest, which includes the North River and Waipu Scenic Reserves (167 Ha) and the McLean QE ll Open Space Covenant (32Ha).
An additional 3 Hectares of land, located directly over the road, is currently leased from a neighbour for horse grazing and hay making. Usually we have about twenty horses on the property.
Survey plan of the 'Blocks' of land.
Aerial view of the North River land. Courtesy Google Maps.