The Ōpārara River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the West Coast region of

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 ...

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 ...

. It is best known for the limestone arches it carved in the Oparara Basin. The river and most of its tributaries originate in the Fenian Ranges in the

Kahurangi National Park Kahurangi National Park is a national park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers , ranging from the Buller River near Murc ...

, where the river flows through a section of the Honeycomb Hill Cave. Further downstream it continues through the Ōpārara Basin Arches, both of which are popular walking destinations. These sections of the Ōpārara River, while still in dense native forest, can be reached by a forestry road. For the majority of its length it continues to meander south through the Ōpārara Basin before turning west to flow into the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

near the small settlement of Ōpārara north of the township of

Karamea Karamea is a town on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the northernmost settlement of any real size on the West Coast, and is located northeast by road from Westport, New Zealand, Westport. Apart ...

. The river's colour varies from tea-like shades of golden brown to red from the natural organic

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s released into the water by several of the plant species in the area. Leaves and other plant matter on the forest floor release these tannins as they decompose – this eventually leeches into and stains the water, with the shade and intensity varying depending on rainfall and season. The river and contributing streams in the area are a habitat for the endangered South Island whio; the area used to sustain a large population of whio and is now a location for a recovery programme run by the

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori language, Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand ...

. The rare and protected Ōpārara giant land snail ('' Powelliphanta annectens'') has only been found in areas around 700 m from the Ōpārara River.

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

can be fished year-round in the river's estuary. File:Oparara Basin the River 3.JPG File:Tannin-colored water of Oparara River.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oparara River Buller District Rivers of the West Coast Region Rivers of New Zealand Rivers of Kahurangi National Park