page_title: Waitotara River
section_title: Settlements and access
hierarchical_section_title: Waitotara River / Settlements and access
caption_attribution_description: English: Inscription at bottom right - "Ngutuwera" T.T.T. Railway 1947 Steam locomotive alongside a rock face on the Taupo Totara Timber Company railway line, in 1947. Photographer unidentified. Ref: PAColl-5521-14 The Ngutuwera rock cutting is in the gully at what is now Lichfield, near the dairy factory. The Kinleith Branch crosses the gully on a large embankment.
context_page_description: The Waitotara River in New Zealand's North Island stretches approximately 100 km in length from its headwaters in the Matemateāonga Range to its mouth on the South Taranaki Bight. The river takes in significant tributaries such as the Ngutuwera, Makakaho, Pokeka, Omaru and Totara Streams.
context_section_description: The river catchment and its tributaries are accessed via the Waitotara Valley Road and Ngutuwera Road, and associated side-roads. The village of Waitotara is the predominant settlement of the catchment, located at the junction of the Waitotara Valley Road and State Highway 3. The viability of the Waitotara settlement has recently been challenged by a number of devastating flood events, while the Waitotara School has undergone complete refurbishment.
  Along the Waitotara River lie the localities of Rangitatau, Puau, Orangimea, Tawhiwhi, Makakaho Junction, Ngamatapouri and Taumatatahi.  Ngutuwera catchment localities include Ngutuwera, Mangawhio, Waikare and the Omata Valley.  Located in the upper reaches of the Makakaho Stream is the locality of Makakaho. The upper valley localities are particularly isolated, Ngamatapouri Primary School being 47 km from Waitotara village.
caption: Mallet locomotive No 7 of the Taupo Totara Timber Company Railway at Ngutuwera, 1947
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