The Rangitīkei River is one 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 ...

's longest rivers, long. Its headwaters are to the southeast of

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

in the

Kaimanawa Ranges The Kaimanawa Range of mountains (often known as the ''Kaimanawas'') is located in the central North Island of New Zealand. They extend for 50 kilometres in a northeast/southwest direction through largely uninhabited country to the south of Lake T ...

. It flows from the Central Plateau south past Taihape, Mangaweka, Hunterville, Marton, and

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

, to the South Taranaki Bight at Tangimoana, southeast of

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

. The river gives its name to the surrounding Rangitikei District. In 1897 the river flooded and all the bridges over it (

Vinegar Hill Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

, Onepuhi, Kakariki railway bridge and Bulls) were damaged or destroyed. Port of Rangitikei, at the mouth of the river was also washed away and never rebuilt. Other notable floods were in 1882, 1917, 1936, 1958, 1965 and 2004. Until 1908 a ferry linked Tangimoana to Scotts Ferry. Onepuhi, or Onepuehu, bridge was shown on the 1941 map, but missing from the 1968 and later maps. Further decking for the long Onepuhi bridge was suggested in 1958. The river is a popular leisure and recreation area for jetboating, white water rafting, kayaking and fishing, and includes public camp grounds along its banks, including

Vinegar Hill, New Zealand Vinegar Hill is a locality on State Highway 1 in New Zealand's North Island; a camp at that locality and an annual Christmas celebration held at the camp. Location Vinegar Hill is on the banks of the Rangitikei River within the Putai Ngahere ...

. Its sheer vertical "paapa" (clay) cliffs (unique to this part of New Zealand) and deep canyons provide the perfect setting for adventure activities such as bungy jumps and flying fox rides. The cliffs, which display

oxygen isotope stage Marine isotope stages (MIS), marine oxygen-isotope stages, or oxygen isotope stages (OIS), are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earth's paleoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting changes in temperature derived from data f ...

s, have been

incised Incision may refer to: * Cutting, the separation of an object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force * A type of open wound caused by a clean, sharp-edged object such as a knife, razor, or glass splinter ...

into the soft

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

, 2.6 to 1.7 million year old, marine sediments as the land has risen since the last ice age. The rise has left 19 terraces, which have been mapped. Part of the river was used as the

Anduin The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, strictly a continent on the planet of Arda but widely taken to mean the physical world, and ''Eä'', all ...

River in

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's movie '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. Both rainbow and brown trout throughout the river system with fish in the upper reaches reaching trophy size (i.e. over 4.5 kg) with the average through the rest of the system being around 1.5 to 2 kg. Fish numbers are good throughout the system though there are fewer fish per kilometre in the upper reaches. This is made up for by the quality and size of the fish being larger in this section.

Springvale Suspension Bridge

The Springvale Suspension Bridge crosses the Rangitīkei River on the Taihape–Napier Road (known as the Gentle Annie). It is located on the Ngamatea Plateau in the district of

Ngamahanga Ngamahanga is a rural community, in the northeastern part of Rangitikei District, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. The rest of the Rangitikei District is located in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Ngamahanga has been farmed ...

, 41km north–east of Taihape and 111km west of

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

. It was built to support farming which increased in the inland

Pātea Patea ( ) is the third-largest town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Pātea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Whanganui on . Hāwera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley, Taranaki, Waverley 17 ...

region after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the need to transport stock and wool to the port at

. The bridge was designed by Rangitīkei County engineer Sydney Mair and built by William Salt. Construction commenced in 1923, the bridge opened in 1925 and it was known as the Rangitīkei Bridge or Erewhon Bridge after the name of the farming block. The name Springvale came from the nearby sheep farm. The bridge was replaced by the nearby Callender–Hamilton bridge in 1970 as it was no longer able to carry heavy trucks. As an early example of a suspension bridge with reinforced concrete towers its importance in engineering heritage was recognised by Heritage New Zealand designating it as a Category II historic site. The bridge has a span of 61m supported by 7m high concrete towers at either end. The deck is made of wood and at 2.4m wide is a single lane.

Gallery

File:Springvale Suspension Bridge, New Zealand, view from the south.jpg, Bridge from the south File:Springvale Suspension Bridge, New Zealand, view from east to west.jpg, View from the east of the bridge File:Springvale Suspension Bridge deck, New Zealand.jpg, The wooden deck, view from west to east File:Springvale Suspension Bridge and Callender-Hamilton bridge, New Zealand.jpg, Suspension Bridge in the foreground, modern bridge behind

References

External links

Rangitikei Tourism
Rivers of Manawatū-Whanganui Rivers of New Zealand {{ManawatuWanganui-river-stub