The Ahaura River is in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. This river drains the western flanks of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

and flows into the Grey River. The Ahaura and its many tributaries rise in the Lake Sumner State Forest park and enters the Grey River at the small settlement of Ahaura approximately 30 km upstream from Greymouth. It drains a huge area of land and in its lower reaches below the Haupiri confluence can have a tea-colour stain for much of the year. The reaches above the junction with the Haupiri tend to have very clear water however for much of the year. Other rivers in the catchment are the Nancy, Trent, Tūtaekurī and

Waiheke Waiheke Island is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most populated island ...

Rivers. They can all be

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ed, except in late summer and they are the most used rivers on the West Coast. The lower gorge has remnants of Chinese miners' West Coast gold rush, gold diggings. Pack-tracks to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

used to go through Amuri Pass into the Doubtful River Valley and by the Tūtaekurī to the Hope River. The Ahaura in the gorge is a wide, fast, shallow, braided river, with extensive grassy flats, surrounded by beech forest. Earthquake Rapid, is the largest rapid on the river. A 1981 survey described the scenic and recreational values of the gorge as exceptional. The river is only bridged by the Stillwater–Ngākawau Line and SH7. A punt operated across the river from 1871 to 1879, when it was replaced by a bridge. The first railway bridge opened in 1890. At the gorge the Ahaura's 7-day mean annual low flow is per second, the mean flow and the maximum recorded flow . On 26 December 1957 the flood gauge at the SH7 bridge reached . The river's catchment is . Gold digging started about 1865 and a small settlement of shanties had been built at Ahauru by January 1866. 3,300 were reported to be at work in the area by March 1866 and a

bridle path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

had been formed. The Ahaura Terraces and Nancys Clearing Ecological Areas were declared in 1997 to protect

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...

and red beech (tawhai raunui) forests on the river's terraces, including

kākāriki The three species of kākāriki (also spelled ''kakariki'', without macrons), or New Zealand parakeets, are the most common species of parakeets in the genus ''Cyanoramphus'', family (biology), family Psittaculidae. The most commonly used name ' ...

parakeets.

References

Grey District Rivers of the West Coast Region Rivers of New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub

See also

References