Hakatere Conservation Park

Hakatere Conservation Park was established in 2007, creating this protected area of high country between the Rangitata and Rakaia Rivers in the Ashburton District of the South Island. The park covers 68,000 hectares of mountains and basins, tussocklands, and beech forest, including alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems, braided rivers, lakes, and wetlands. These diverse environments provide significant wildlife habitat.

This park is actually a collection of discrete protected areas within the wider Ashburton Lakes region, which includes Lake Heron, Lake Emma, Lake Camp, Lake Clearwater, and the popular tramping area around Mount Somers. The closest town is Mount Somers. The Department of Conservation proposed the park in 2006, and it was created by combining 19 separate conservation areas. Further land was added through a land tenure review, which allowed lessees to buy land for economic use while land with conservation value was returned to Crown ownership. The historic Hakatere Station, including land around Lake Clearwater, was purchased by the Nature Heritage Fund. An additional 17,000 hectares was added in 2008, from Mt Potts and Redclliffe Stations.

As of 2025, the 9,100 hectares of Hakatere Station land purchased in 2007 is part of the Hakatere Conservation Area, but it's still classified as stewardship land and hasn't been reclassified as a "Park" yet. People come here for picnicking, camping, tramping, hunting, fishing, bird-watching, mountain biking, horseback riding, and windsurfing. You can even use power boats and water ski on Lake Camp.