Ōtukaikino Reserve

Ōtukaikino is a 13-ha freshwater wetland reserve to the north of Christchurch, at the southern end of the northern motorway. The entrance is off Main North Road between Chaneys Corner and the Belfast end of the motorway. It is one of the few remaining original wetlands that were once common around Christchurch.

The reserve is also known as Wilson’s Swamp, named after Robert and Margaret Wilson, the first European settlers on the land in 1854. Wilson descendants remained there until 1961, when the land was acquired for the building of the northern motorway.