The Cook River / Weheka is in the South Island of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The headwaters are from the

La Perouse Glacier LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

on the western flanks of the

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

, and it flows west, then northeast, then northwest and into the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) 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 ...

. Its tributaries include the

Balfour River The Balfour River is a river in the Westland district of New Zealand. Its source is the Balfour Glacier and it runs west then northwest for about to the Cook River/Weheka See also *List of rivers of New Zealand This is a list of all waterw ...

, fed by Balfour Glacier, and the Fox River, fed by

Fox Glacier Fox Glacier (; officially Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe) is a temperate maritime glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Like nearby Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier is one of ...

. Much of the river lies within the

Westland Tai Poutini National Park Westland Tai Poutini National Park is a national park located on the western coast of New Zealand's South Island. Established in 1960 as Westland National Park to commemorate the centenary of the European settlement of Westland District, it ...

. The river was renamed from Cook River to Cook River / Weheka as a result of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. Brown trout can be fished for in the river. Access along the river by foot is difficult beyond the junction with the Balfour River. There are no approved helicopter landing sites in the river valley, but there are chamois,

tahr Tahrs ( , ) or tehrs ( ) are large artiodactyl ungulates related to goats and sheep. There are three species, all native to Asia. Previously thought to be closely related to each other and placed in a single genus, ''Hemitragus'', genetic stud ...

and small numbers of

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

available to hunters.

References

Westland District Rivers of the West Coast, New Zealand Westland Tai Poutini National Park Rivers of New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub