What to See, Do and Eat in Eltham, Taranaki
Eltham is a small south Taranaki town with an outsized history. It built New Zealand's first commercial butter factory in 1887, got the country's first tar sealed street in 1906, and made the first blue vein cheese here in 1951. Today you can walk the 4km loop at Lake Rotokare, buy cheese at factory prices on Bridge Street, browse the Friday market on High Street, and get a coffee and a hot grilled cheese at Naki Roast at 96 Bridge Street. Half a day covers it comfortably.
We roast coffee in Eltham. People drive through on the way to somewhere else, and most of them have no idea what they're passing. So here's the town, from the people who open at 5:30 in the morning here.
Eltham is the Town of Firsts, and it isn't a marketing line
Eltham has a nickname that predates any tourism campaign. It's the Town of Firsts, and the list holds up.
New Zealand's first commercial butter factory opened here in December 1887.[1] It was built by Chew Chong, a Chinese merchant who had already made his name buying edible fungus off struggling Taranaki bush farmers and shipping it to China. That fungus money was often the only cash those families saw. He'd exported the country's first butter to England three years earlier, in 1884.[2]
The firsts kept coming:
- 1901. Eltham held the first World Axemen's Carnival.[1]
- 1906. The first town in New Zealand to get a tarmacadam street.[1] Concrete power poles turned up early here too.[2]
- 1916. The first New Zealand factory to make a commercially viable rennet, the enzyme that turns milk into curd.[1]
- 1951. The first successful trial of blue vein cheese.[1]
That last one matters more than it sounds. Before 1951 this country basically made cheddar. Eltham is where New Zealand cheese got interesting.
You can read most of this off interpretation panels dotted around the town centre. The heritage board by Stark Park has the full map. It's worth ten minutes.
Bridge Street: cheese, coffee, and a grilled cheese sandwich
Bridge Street is the short version of Eltham. Two things you should do on it.
Eltham Cheese Bar, 36 Bridge Street. It sits across the road from the Fonterra Bridge Street site, where they've been making cheese for more than a hundred years. The counter carries blues, whites, yellows, cheddars, crumbles and offcuts at factory prices.[3] The offcuts are the move. Same cheese, wrong shape, much less money. Open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, plus the first Saturday of the month 9am to noon.[3]
Naki Roast, 96 Bridge Street, Eltham 4322. That's us. Two doors at one address: the roastery, and Toasted.
Toasted is a grilled cheese counter. Hotto sando, if you want the Japanese name for it. Eltham cheese, melted, add ham or tomato or onion if you want it.[4] The method came off Grandad's stovetop: butter to the edges, low heat, don't rush it. Calvin learned it standing on a stool. We're still tinkering with the cheese, the bread and the sear, and we're not calling it finished.[4]
We open at 5:30am and run to early afternoon.[4] That's earlier than most cafes in the region, which is deliberate. If you're on the road south at dawn, we're the light that's on.
The pairing is the point. Buy offcuts at number 36, walk up the street to number 96, and eat cheese that was made a hundred metres from where you're standing, on bread, with a flat white. That's the whole town in one lunch.
Lake Rotokare: 4km, a lake, and actual kiwi
Twelve kilometres east of Eltham, at 365 Sangster Road, there's a 230 hectare forested catchment wrapped around a 17.8 hectare natural lake.[5] Since 2008 it's been ringed by an 8.2km predator proof fence.[5] Inside that fence, things that are rare everywhere else are ordinary.
The Lake Walkway is 4km around the water. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours.[6] It's an easy walk for most fitness levels, and the first kilometre is boardwalk with wheelchair access.[6] There are toilets, picnic tables and an information shelter at the entrance.[6]
If you want to earn it, the Ridge Walk is 1220 steps and takes 3 to 5 hours.[6]
On the birds: yes, there are kiwi. North Island brown kiwi breed here and get translocated out to the rest of Taranaki under a partnership with the Taranaki Kiwi Trust, which has been running since 2020.[5] You'll also hear ruru, kārearea, tūī, korimako and kererū, and there are tuna and banded kōkopu in the lake and streams.[5] Kiwi are nocturnal, so daytime walkers hear them rather than see them.
Entry is free and the reserve is open 24/7. No dogs, no other pets, no exceptions.[7] The fence only works if people respect it.
Take a thermos. There's no coffee out there.
Friday morning is the best morning to turn up
If you get to pick your day, pick Friday.
The Eltham market runs Friday mornings on High Street, roughly 8:30am to 12:30pm.[8] It's produce, crafts and local stalls. Anyone can set up, no booking needed, no fee to have a table.[8] That's why it feels like a town market instead of a tourist one.
While you're in the centre, three more things worth the walk:
- The murals. Eltham is one of the more colourful towns in the country. There's a heritage mural on King Edward Street and painted walls scattered through the centre.[9]
- The Toy Wall, Bridger Park. Toys cemented to a wall. It started as one small goodwill gesture and grew.[9] Kids lose their minds over it.
- The Village Gallery, 166 High Street. Paintings, pottery and fibre art from Taranaki artists. Open Monday to Saturday.[9]
For a stretch of the legs, the Soldier's Park walkway off Conway Road runs 1.3km past a small waterfall and out toward the countryside.[9]
Planning a day in Eltham
You don't need long. Here's a sequence that works.
| Time | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 5:30am onward | Naki Roast, 96 Bridge Street | Coffee and a hot grilled cheese before anything else opens |
| 8:30am to 12:30pm (Fri) | High Street | The Friday market |
| Mid morning | Town centre | Murals, the Toy Wall at Bridger Park, Village Gallery |
| 9am to 4pm (Mon to Fri) | 36 Bridge Street | Eltham Cheese Bar, offcuts at factory prices |
| Afternoon | 365 Sangster Road | The 4km Lake Rotokare loop |
The town centre itself takes about fifteen minutes to walk end to end. What makes Eltham worth a half day rather than a fuel stop is how much is packed into that fifteen minutes, plus a predator free sanctuary twenty minutes down the road.
A note on the coffee
We roast in small batches here and stamp the bags by hand. If you're in town, come through the door on Bridge Street. If you're not, the beans go out fresh from the roaster, straight to your door, anywhere in New Zealand.
Either way, the roast date is on the bag. That's the bit that matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Eltham, Taranaki known for?
Eltham is known as the Town of Firsts and as the unofficial cheese capital of New Zealand.[2] It had the country's first commercial butter factory in 1887, its first tarmacadam street in 1906, the first commercially viable New Zealand rennet in 1916, and the first blue vein cheese in 1951.[1]
Are there kiwi at Lake Rotokare?
Yes. North Island brown kiwi live inside the predator proof fence at Rotokare, and since 2020 birds have been translocated out annually to repopulate the wider Taranaki region under a partnership with the Taranaki Kiwi Trust.[5] They're nocturnal, so a daytime walk is more likely to give you a call than a sighting.
How long does the Lake Rotokare walk take?
The Lake Walkway is 4km around the lake and takes 1.5 to 2 hours. It's an easy walk for most fitness levels, and the first kilometre is a wheelchair accessible boardwalk. The harder Ridge Walk is 1220 steps and takes 3 to 5 hours.[6]
Where can I buy Eltham cheese?
The Eltham Cheese Bar at 36 Bridge Street sells blues, whites, yellows, cheddars, crumbles and offcuts at factory prices. It's open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm and the first Saturday of each month from 9am to noon.[3]
Where can I get an early coffee in Eltham?
Naki Roast at 96 Bridge Street opens at 5:30am and runs to early afternoon. The counter next door, Toasted, does hot grilled cheese sandwiches made with Eltham cheese.[4]
When is the Eltham market?
Friday mornings on High Street, roughly 8:30am to 12:30pm. Stallholders can turn up on the day without booking, and there's currently no charge for a spot.[8]
Sources
- terangiaoaonunui.pukeariki.com: Puke Ariki, Eltham: Town of Many Firsts. Dates for the 1887 butter factory, 1901 axemen's carnival, 1906 tarmacadam street, 1916 rennet and 1951 blue vein cheese.
- www.shopsouthtaranaki.com: South Taranaki Business Hub on Chew Chong, the 1884 butter export, tar sealed roads and concrete power poles.
- elthamcheesebar.co.nz: Eltham Cheese Bar address, opening hours and product range.
- nakiroast.co.nz: Naki Roast Toasted, the hotto sando, opening hours and address.
- www.rotokare.org.nz: Rotokare Scenic Reserve on reserve size, the 8.2km fence, resident species and the Taranaki Kōhanga Kiwi partnership.
- www.rotokare.org.nz: Rotokare track lengths, walk times, accessibility and facilities.
- www.rotokare.org.nz: Rotokare Scenic Reserve on free entry, 24/7 access and the no dogs rule.
- www.sustainabletaranaki.org.nz: Sustainable Taranaki, local Taranaki markets, Eltham market day, hours and stallholder terms.
- nzpocketguide.com: Murals, the Bridger Park Toy Wall, the Village Gallery and the Soldier's Park walkway.