The Rakaia Gorge is located on the
Rakaia River
The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand. The Rakaia River has a mean flow of and a mean annual seven-day low flow of . In the 1850s, Euro ...
in inland
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
in 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 ...
.
Like its neighbour, the
Waimakariri River
The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. ...
, the Rakaia runs through wide shingle beds for much of its length, but is forced through a narrow canyon as it approaches the
Canterbury Plains
The Canterbury Plains () are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in t ...
.
In the 1870s, there were proposals to extend the
Whitecliffs Branch
The Whitecliffs Branch was an long branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network in the Canterbury region of the South Island. It was more industrial than the many rural branches on the South Island's east coast ...
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
into the Rakaia Gorge, and an 1880 Royal Commission on New Zealand's
railway network was in favour of this proposal, but it never came to fruition.
The Rakaia Gorge bridge was completed in 1882 and provides an inland alternative to the more frequently used Rakaia River bridge just north of the town of
Rakaia
Rakaia is a town seated close to the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the ...
. The bridge carries
State Highway 77 and the
Inland Scenic Route and connects the settlements of
Glentunnel
Glentunnel (previously known as Surveyors Gully) is a village located in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island.
It has a close historical association with coal, clay and sand mines of the Malvern area. Or ...
and
Methven
Swimming at the top bridges of the gorge is a favoured pastime for locals and tourists alike. Swimming in the main river can be done but only by strong swimmers. There is a perfect swimming hole under the concrete bridge that suits all levels, this area has no current as it is completely protected from the river.
References
External links
View from Rakaia Gorge Bridge-
Google Street View
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expa ...
Canyons and gorges of Canterbury, New Zealand
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