19-674: The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge created by the Kawarau River in Central Otago , in the South Island of New Zealand. The towns of Queenstown and Cromwell are linked by State Highway 6 through the gorge. The gorge begins some 30 kilometres from Queenstown, close to the wine-growing community of Gibbston and the large rock outcrop known as the Nevis Bluff . It continues for some 25 kilometres before
38-516: A Category I historic place, is the site of the world's first commercial bungy jumping operation . Eastburn Station gave up the 1.2 square kilometres (300 acres) plus that forms the natural backdrop as a reserve. The Kawarau is the largest volume river commercially rafted in New Zealand, with an average flow of 216 cubic metres per second (7,600 cu ft/s) at Chards Road measuring station. The four significant commercially used rapids on
57-491: A company was formed to drain the river by blocking off Lake Wakatipu, with the intent of then collecting gold from the river bed. Ten massive gates were completed in 1927 and although the river level dropped it was not laid bare as planned. The gates formed part of State Highway 6 until December 2017, when a larger $ 22 million replacement bridge was completed. A water conservation order was set up in March 1997, seven years after
76-637: Is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm . The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 kilometres (37 mi) and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell . Before the construction of the Clyde High Dam, the Kawarau joined the Clutha River / Mata-Au in a spectacular confluence at Cromwell. The Shotover River enters
95-588: Is pronounced 'ka wa ro', and has its etymological roots in the Waitaha or southern dialect of Māori . It should not be confused with the Bay of Plenty town of Kawerau . The falls where the river leaves Whakatipu Waimāori are called Ōterotu. For Ngāi Tahu , the river was the main travel route from the Mata-Au to Lake Wakatipu. A key feature was the narrow gorge at Whatatorere or Pōtiki-whata-rumaki-nao ,
114-574: The 1860s, the gorge was the site of much activity during the Otago gold rush . The preserved remains of several miner's cottages (notably those of Chinese migrants) can be seen above the banks of the river. The Roaring Meg hydro scheme and Goldfields Mining Centre are in the gorge. Visitors can experience panning for gold at the Goldfields Mining Centre. A 2004 accident resulted in two hundred litres of hypochlorous acid spilling into
133-476: The Cromwell Gorge: ‘I shall never forget the “race” through the gorge ... my heart was literally in my mouth, but those two old men seemed to care nothing for the current.’ More recent tourist adventure activities on the river include riverboarding , jet boating, white water rafting, river surfing , and bungy jumping . The Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge , 43 metres (141 ft) above the river, and
152-688: The Kawarau could be crossed without boats. Māori were heading for the Cardrona Valley to reach Wānaka , and on to the Haast Pass to seek pounamu . The miners were seeking gold in the Arrow Goldfields. Now the main road to Queenstown , State Highway 6 , runs through the Kawarau Gorge. Kawarau is a Māori name meaning "channel between rocks or shoals ". It shares its name with the mountain range at its source . It
171-513: The Kawarau from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south. With many rapids and strong currents, the river can be dangerous and has claimed many lives. It is popular for bungy jumping and kayaking . A natural bridge, Whatatorere , where the river narrows to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), was important first to early Māori and then to goldminers as the only place the Mata-Au and
190-477: The area was Nathanael Chalmers , who was guided inland by Chiefs Reko and Kaikōura in 1853. Reko and Kaikōura showed Chalmers the rock bridge Whatatorere at Roaring Meg , which was the only place that the Kawarau River could be crossed, and returned him down the river on a mōkihi , a flax reed open kayak. [1] In 1910, 57 years after the event, Nathanael Chalmers remembered his boat trip through
209-556: The finale of the Israeli reality show HaMerotz LaMillion 1 . Frederick John Cato of the firm Moran & Cato , was a teacher from Invercargill, New Zealand, where he met and married Frances Bethune. Kawarau was the name they gave their expansive home in Hawthorn East, Victoria . Bridges that pass over the Kawarau River are: Until it was destroyed in the 19th century, the natural rock bridge "Whatatorere" at Roaring Meg
SECTION 10
#1732787331957228-456: The gorge, the acid cleaned the highway but caused no environmental damage. Three New Zealand Army soldiers died during a training exercise in 2005 when their Unimog fell 100 m down the gorge into the river. 45°01′S 169°05′E / 45.02°S 169.09°E / -45.02; 169.09 This Otago geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kawarau River The Kawarau River
247-514: The latter's origin at the outflow of Lake Wānaka . The Cardrona flows north for 40 kilometres (25 mi) down the steep narrow Cardrona Valley. Its headwaters are near New Zealand's highest main road, the Crown Range route. The river runs past the settlement of Cardona and the Cardrona skifield , then south of Wānaka township. The original name of the river is the Ōrau . It was
266-588: The minister of conservation first applied for an agreement to prevent hydroelectric dams from being built in the Kawarau river or its tributaries. The Order covers the stretch of river from the Lake Wakatipu control gates to Scrubby Stream. Fish and Game has sought an amendment to the Water Conservation Order to prevent any damming of the Nevis River and to seek conditions on changes to the minimum flows. The first European to visit
285-528: The only place where the Kawarau and Mata-Au rivers could be leapt over. It connected to a route over the Crown Range and on to the Cardrona Valley that led to the West Coast. In the 19th century, alluvial gold was extracted from the river. The Goldfields Mining Centre, downstream of the gorge, features a working exhibition of 19th century gold mining techniques . Some of the miners' huts remain today, many of them close to thriving vineyards . In 1924
304-665: The river are Smiths Falls, Twin Bridges, Do Little Do Nothing and the 400-metre (1,300 ft) Chinese Dog Leg. Below these are the dangerous Nevis Bluff, Citroen, Retrospect, and Roaring Meg sections. Because of the danger Waitiri Station usually declines access. The Kawarau featured as a setting for the Argonath in the 2001 motion picture, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring . The Kawarau appeared on
323-545: The river emerges into the upper valley of the Clutha River close to the settlement of Ripponvale . The gorge is the site of several extreme sports , including bungy jumping at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge , and white-water sports such as kayaking and riverboarding , and one of only two known areas where the nationally critical endangered fungus weevil Cerius otagensis has been found. The Kawarau gorge's first historical significance
342-453: Was as a travel route to the South Island's West Coast . A natural bridge, "Whatatorere", where the river narrows to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), was important first to early Māori and then to goldminers as the only place the Clutha and Kawarau rivers could be crossed without boats. Māori were heading for the Cardrona Valley to reach Wānaka , and on to the Haast Pass to seek pounamu . In
361-414: Was the only place that the Kawarau River or Clutha River could be crossed without boats. 45°03′S 169°12′E / 45.050°S 169.200°E / -45.050; 169.200 Cardrona River The Cardrona River is in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand . It is one of the first tributaries of the Clutha River / Mata-Au , which it meets only 5 kilometres (3 mi) from
#956043