The Hinatua River is a small

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the Westland District of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. Its headwaters are on Mount Hercules, near as it runs between Harihari and

Te Taho Whataroa is a small township in southern Westland on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the western bank of the Whataroa River, with the village of Te Taho on the other side. passes through Whataroa on its route from R ...

. The Hinatua River then flows in a general northerly direction, passing just to the east of the

Saltwater Lagoon Saltwater Lagoon ( mi, Pouerua-hāpua) is a lagoon on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is in the southern Westland District, with Abut Head to the west and the village of Harihari to the east/southeast. The lagoon is locate ...

before flowing close to 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 ...

coastline before joining the Poerua River at its rivermouth.

References

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