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Otira

Otira is located at the base of the Otira Gorge and with a resident population of 87 people, is one of the smallest settlements in Westland.

The hotel was originally established in the 1860s as a coach stop for travellers from the West to the East Coast while the township was at its peak in the 1920s when it had a population of over 600 made up mainly of workers on the rail link from the West Coast to Christchurch and in particular the construction of the Otira tunnel which runs under the Southern Alps from Otira to Arthurs Pass and also to service the State Highway.

Construction started on the tunnel in 1907 and it was opened in August 1923. At 8.5 kilometres long the tunnel is the third longest in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. The gradient in the tunnel is mainly 1 in 33 and the Otira end is over 250 metres lower than the Arthurs Pass end. At the time of its construction, it was the longest tunnel in the world.

Today the rail link is primarily to transport millions of tonnes of coal each year from West Coast coal mines to the export port of Lyttelton, to transport the produce from Westland Milk Products in Hokitika to distribution centres based in Christchurch and timber and other produce as required. The very popular Tranz Alpine express runs on a daily basis from Christchurch to Greymouth and return and has been voted among the Top 10 rail journeys in the World for a number of years.

The hotel and houses in the township are now owned privately by Hennah Holdings Limited which purchased it in 1998 with the intention of improving the accommodation and rental facilities available to travellers and residents. The area is rich in birdlife and situated close to superb ski fields while there are many bushwalks available in the area.

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