The Riuwaka River, formerly known as the Riwaka River, is located in the Nelson region in the northwest 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 ...

. It flows for 20 kilometres, entering

Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere Tasman Bay (; officially Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere), originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches along ...

close to the town of

Riwaka Riwaka ( mi, Riuwaka) is a small settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It lies beside Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, five kilometres north of Motueka, and close to the mouth of the Riuwaka River. The land where the tow ...

, 10 kilometres north of

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding dis ...

. The valleys of the Riuwaka and nearby

Tākaka River The Tākaka River lies in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It runs north for 70 kilometres, entering Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay near the town of Tākaka. It was reported on 17 January 2007 that the Tākaka River is one of a growi ...

form part of the pass over which the only road between Tasman Bay and

Golden Bay Golden Bay may refer to: * Golden Bay / Mohua, a bay at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island * Golden Bay (Malta), a bay and beach on the coastline of Malta * Golden Bay High School, a high school in Takaka, New Zealand * Golden Bay, Wes ...

runs. For part of its journey, the river flows underground through

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, returning to the open air at ''The Riuwaka Resurgence''. This spot is popular with both holidaymakers and

divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

, as the water is always crystal clear, and is very cold even in the heat of mid-summer. The name of the river was officially altered to Riuwaka River in August 2014, following the

Treaty of Waitangi settlements Claims and settlements under the Treaty of Waitangi have been a significant feature of New Zealand politics since the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal that was established by that act to hear claims. Successive governments ...

between

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

and local

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

Ngāti Rārua Ngāti Rārua are a Māori iwi (tribe) of the Tainui tribal confederation, descendants of the people who arrived in Aotearoa aboard the ''Tainui'' waka (canoe). Ngāti Rārua stem from the marriage of Rārua-ioio and Tū-pāhau and had their ...

and

Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in the upper South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Golden Bay and Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island to Cape Campbell, St Arnaud and Westport. Marae ...

References

External links

Images of diving at the Riwaka Resurgence
Caves of the Tasman District Rivers of the Tasman District Abel Tasman National Park Ngāti Rārua Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Tasman Bay {{Tasman-river-stub