Towns

Hunterville is a sturdy farming community with a surprisingly quirky streak. The town is best known for its romney sheep and the huntaway dogs that fetch them from the steep hillsides. And yet it was named for George Hunter who, it is said, walked from Wellington and placed a peg to found it in 1884.

Today Hunterville is the main service centre in the Rangitīkei district and it's on the up. Like all farming-supply towns, its fortunes have swollen and shrunk over the years. Yet, it is determined to make itself a destination, with new gift and antique shops (including the famous Goldie’s Junk’ n’ Disorderly, relocated from Foxton) enticing tourists to stop and linger. Hunterville is 2 hours 20 minutes from Wellington and 1 hour 5 minutes from Levin.