The Gunner River is a river on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

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 ...

. It rises in the Domett Range in the

Kahurangi National Park Kahurangi National Park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers , ranging to near Golden Bay in the north. Much of what was the ...

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

. 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 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 Great Walks by the Department ...

. 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 Distri ...

in February 2022 caused significant damage. The suspension bridge over the Gunner River was damaged but is deemed repairable, while the Pitt Creek bridge was swept away, and the suspension bridge over the Heaphy River was destroyed. The West Coast end of the Heaphy Track is predicted to be closed for several months.

References

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

See also

References