[4] A surveyor named the tributaries to the west of the Ōhikanui River using Greek letters, as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Eta Creeks.

[7] The area is popular with trampers because of its natural environment,[8] with Brown trout[9] fishers,[6] who use the river about 140 times a year,[10] and with deer stalkers.

The mountains at the southern end of the valley, made of early Paleozoic Pecksniff metasedimentary gneiss,[11] have been carved by glaciation to form cirques and sharp ridges.

The middle valley has horopito, silver beech, tawhai raunui, mountain tōtara and rimu, with crown fern and bush rice grass (Microlaena avenacea) in the understorey.

Birds in the valley in the 1970s included blackbird, chaffinch, dunnock, greenfinch, goldfinch, kākāriki, karoro, kāhu, kākā, kakaruwai, kārearea, kawau, kawaupaka, kea, kererū, koekoeā, korimako, kōtare, kōtātā, ngirungiru, pihoihoi, pipipi, pīpīwharauroa, pīwakawaka, redpoll, riroriro, roroa, ruru, silvereye, skylark, song thrush, titipounamu, tūī, weka and whio.

[25] In 1962 the National government agreed in principle to building a 13.6MW hydro-electric power station, with a 58 m (190 ft) head, after Labour had refused in 1960.