The Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka is in the southwest of the

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 ...

of New Zealand. It runs for through

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...

, its sources being close to the

Homer Tunnel The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown ...

and in Gertrude Valley in the southern

Darran Mountains The Darran Mountains are a prominent range within New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the country's biggest national park. They contain the park's highest peak, Mount Tūtoko (). The range lies between Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) and the valle ...

. At first, the river flows southeast and east, coming as close as 1km to the east-west divide of the South Island, before continuing north through the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

-formed

Hollyford Valley Hollyford Valley is a valley in Fiordland, New Zealand, in the southwest of the South Island. It is named for the Hollyford River, which runs north-north-west along its length from the Southern Alps to the Tasman Sea. Beech forest dominates both t ...

. Near the end, the river passes through

Lake McKerrow Lake McKerrow / Whakatipu Waitai lies at the northern end of Fiordland, in the southwest of New Zealand's South Island. The lake runs from southeast to northwest, is in length, and covers . Lake McKerrow drains, and is drained by, the Hollyfor ...

before reaching

Martins Bay Martins Bay is an indentation in the southwest coast of New Zealand's South Island. It lies immediately to the south of Big Bay and some 30 kilometres north of the mouth of Milford Sound at the northern tip of Fiordland. The Hollyford River rea ...

on the coast of 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 ...

north of

Milford Sound Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tra ...

. The Hollyford Track follows the river's course. Part of the river's course is traditionally regarded as the boundary between the

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

and

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

regions, however, current maps show the entirety of the Hollyford Valley contained within the Southland Region. In January 1863 Patrick Quirk Caples explored the river, naming it after his home town of Hollyford, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the passage of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, the name of the river was officially altered to Hollyford River / Whakatipu Kā Tuka. Three sections of the river are regularly travelled by kayak: *Monkey Creek - Falls Creek: Grade: V+ *Falls Creek - Marian Swingbridge: Grade: III - IV *Marian Creek Run: Grade: IV - V

References

External links

{{Commons Category, Hollyford River
Hollyford Valley
at the Department of Conservation Rivers of Fiordland