Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, on the banks of the Waipara River

Waipara River

The Waipara River is a river the South Island of New Zealand.The river passes through the small town of Waipara on its 45 kilometre southeastward journey to the Pacific Ocean at the Northern end of Pegasus Bay....

.

It is at the junction of State Highways 1 and 7

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 60 kilometres north of Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

. It is also situated on the Main North Line railway.

The Weka Pass Railway

Weka Pass Railway

The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated society whose members come from all walks of life and are largely...

 has its base in Waipara, and runs on 12 kilometres of track between here and Waikari

Waikari

Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 7 near the Weka Pass and was served by the Waiau Branch railway from 6 April 1882 until its closure on 15 January 1978...

 over the former route of the Waiau Branch

Waiau Branch

The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ultimately superseded by a coastal route...

, a branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 railway that diverged from the Main North Line and ran to Waiau.

The Waipara region also has a reputation as premium area for the production of Pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

, Riesling

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

 and Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

. Waipara has the highest summer temperatures and the lowest rainfall of any of the New Zealand wine

New Zealand wine

New Zealand wine is largely produced in ten major wine growing regions spanning latitudes 36° to 45° South and extending . They are, from north to south Northland, Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury/Waipara and Central...

regions.