The Gunner River is a river on the West Coast 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 ...

. It rises in the Domett Range 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 ...

and flows north-west into the Heaphy River, which flows 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 ...

. A swingbridge crosses the river near its junction with the Heaphy. This bridge is part of the

Heaphy Track The Heaphy Track is a popular Tramping in New Zealand, tramping and mountain biking track in the north west of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located within the Kahurangi National Park and classified as one of New Zealand's ten New Ze ...

. Heavy rain in the

Buller District Buller District is one of 53 districts of New Zealand, and is within the West Coast Region. It covers Westport, Karamea, Reefton and Inangahua Junction. Buller District's overall land area is . The district is administered by the Buller Dis ...

in February 2022 caused significant damage. The suspension bridge over the Gunner River was damaged but was deemed repairable, while the Pitt Creek bridge was swept away, and the suspension bridge over the Heaphy River was destroyed. The track re-opened in October 2023, after the replacement of bridges and restoration of tracks damaged in the 2022 floods.

References

Land Information New Zealand
– Search for Place Names Buller District Rivers of the West Coast Region Rivers of New Zealand Rivers of Kahurangi National Park {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub

See also

References