West Wanaka Station
The station is 6450 hectares in size with about 107 paddocks. The farm has been divided up into paddocks and runs. West Wanaka Station borders the Matukituki River and Lake Wanaka and has operated as a high-country farm since the 1800’s and in recent times it went through Pastoral lease tenure review, where some of the land has been gazetted as Conservation Park.
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About West Wanaka Station
West Wanaka Station (WWS) was purchased by the Cochrane Family in 1976 and is now owned by James and Jonelle Cochrane. WWS has 6450 ha of freehold land, though, as a pastoral lease it was much larger. In 1966 over 11,000 ha of mostly high-altitude country was surrendered under a Soil and Water Conservation Plan. It is now the Mount Alta Conservation Area, lying within the Te Wāhipounamu -South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. It can be summarised as having steep faces and lake terraces.
In 2005 West Wanaka Station completed the pastoral lease tenure review process. This set aside a further 1000 ha of conservation areas and reserves, allowing public access to areas of significant conservation and recreational value.
The braiding of the Matukituki prior to reaching Lake Wanaka