HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Waiau River is the largest river in the Southland region of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. 'Waiau' translates to 'River of Swirling Currents'. It is the outflow of
Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau () is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the ...
, flowing from it into
Lake Manapouri Lake Manapouri () is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Māori History According to Māori peop ...
to the south, and from there flows south for before reaching the
Foveaux Strait Foveaux Strait ( ; ) is a strait that separates Stewart Island from the South Island of New Zealand. The width of the strait ranges from about , and the depth varies between . The strait was first charted by an American Seal hunting, sealer, O ...
south of
Tuatapere Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is the self declared "Sausage Capital of New Zealand". Tuatapere is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Wae ...
. It also takes water from
Lake Monowai Lake Monowai (officially Monowai Lake; ) is a large lake () in the southern part of Fiordland National Park, in New Zealand's South Island, 120 kilometres northwest of Invercargill. At an altitude of 196 metres in a long curved valley, the lake ...
. The Upper Waiau River that flows between Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau doubled as the fictional River
Anduin The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional continent Middle-earth on the planet Arda, but widely taken to mean all of creation ('' Eä'') as well as all of his writings ...
at the end of the first film of ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, for the scenes where the
Uruk-hai An orc (sometimes spelt ork; ), in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin". In Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevol ...
chase the Fellowship along the river banks. A proposal that a stretch of river below the area known as Balloon Loop be named the Anduin Reach to honour New Zealand film maker
Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...
for his use of the area as the River Anduin was rejected by the
New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) is the authority over geographical and hydrographic names within New Zealand and its territorial waters. This includes the naming of small urban settlements, localities, mounta ...
in April 2009.


Geography

The Waiau River is the largest river system in the southwestern corner of the South Island. It has its sources in the Eglinton and
Clinton River The Clinton River is a river in southeastern Michigan in the United States. It is named in honor of DeWitt Clinton, who was governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. The main branch of the river rises from wetlands and coldwater tributaries from ...
s, both of which are major inflows to
Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau () is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the ...
, one of the two large lakes formed from
glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...
which are part of the Waiau's system. Other rivers to flow into Te Anau include the Glaisnock River,
Wapiti The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. T ...
, Doon, and Upukerora Rivers, as well as numerous
burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
s, of which the largest are the
Junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...
, Woodrow, Ettrick, Snag, and Mackenzie Burns. The Waiau, so named, flows from the southern tip of Te Anau and meanders for some 12 kilometres along the western edge of a small plain before entering the northeastern corner of
Lake Manapouri Lake Manapouri () is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Māori History According to Māori peop ...
, the second of the two large lakes in the Waiau system. Manapouri is also fed by the Spey and Grebe Rivers, as well as the
Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...
, Awe, and Iris Burns. The Waiau flows out of the lake in the southeast, close to the small town of
Manapouri Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern ...
, and shortly thereafter is joined by the waters of the
Mararoa River The Mararoa River is one of the braided rivers of the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "long-lasting cultivations" for ''Māraroa''. Description The ...
. From here, the Waiau continues south across a relatively narrow plain, fed by numerous small creeks and burns, the largest of which are the
Excelsior Excelsior may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...
,
Whare A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called '' whare' ...
and Redcliff Creeks and the Borland Burn. At Monowai it is met by the Monowai River, the outflow of a further glacially formed lake, also named Monowai. At the Waiau's junction with the small Wairaki River the plain widens. From here the Waiau is fed by numerous other streams and burns, notably the Lill Burn close to
Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...
and the Alton Burn, as well as the Orauea River, close to
Tuatapere Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is the self declared "Sausage Capital of New Zealand". Tuatapere is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Wae ...
. As the river nears the coast it widens, with several small low-lying islands contained within its channels At its mouth on
Te Waewae Bay Te Waewae Bay is the westernmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay. Twenty-seven kilometres in length, the western end of the bay is mountainous, with ...
, the river forms a long tidal lagoon separated from the sea by a narrow
sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...
which extends along the coast for several kilometres.


Geology

The Waiau River and several places connected to it have given their names to stages of the
New Zealand geologic time scale While also using the international geologic time scale, many nations–especially those with isolated and therefore non-standard prehistories–use their own systems of dividing geologic time into epochs and faunal stages. In New Zealand, the ...
. These are the Altonian (after Alton Burn), Clifdenian (after
Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...
), Lillburnian (after Lill Burn), and Waiauan stages, which consecutively run from 18.7 to 11.01 million years ago.


Flora and fauna

There are diverse species in the forested catchment basin of the Waiau River. Vegetative understory within most of the
Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te W� ...
includes numerous fern species including the
crown fern ''Lomaria discolor'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Blechnum discolor'', commonly called crown fern (Māori language, Māori: piupiu), is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemism, endemic to New Zealand. As noted by ...
(''Lomaria discolor''). Several species of
endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
birds live around the shores of Lake Te Anau, and the upper Waiau River, notably the
Takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a Flightless bird, flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the Rail (bird), rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, whic ...
(''Notornis hochstetteri''). An area between the Middle and South Fiords called the
Murchison Mountains The Murchison Mountains () are a group of mountains in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. It is the location where the South Island takahē, a type of bird presumed extinct, was rediscovered in 1948. The highest mountain is Mount Lyall at . ...
is a sanctuary set aside for these birds. The western shore of Lake Te Anau also holds the
Te Ana-au Caves The Te Ana-au caves are a culturally and ecologically important system of limestone caves on the western shore of Lake Te Anau, in the southwest of New Zealand. They were re-discovered in 1948 by Lawson Burrows, who found the upper entry after ...
, from which Lake Te Anau derives its name.
Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
levels of the
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
benthic
cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...
were found in December 2018 where the Waiau River runs by
Tuatapere Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is the self declared "Sausage Capital of New Zealand". Tuatapere is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Wae ...
. High levels of nutrients or sediment run off into waterways combined with high summer temperatures and low summer flows are the main factors that lead to the growth of toxic algae. In Summer 2019 and 2018 the Waiau River had high levels of ''
Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...
,'' Environment Southland gave the river an 'amber' warning, advising caution if swimming. E-Coli comes from the intestines of humans or animals and is introduced to the environment through
feces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...
. In December 2019 the
New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
set up the 'Thriving Southland' Change and Innovation Project, allocating nine million dollars across Southland's 21 river catchment groups to help farmers and growers lift their
environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
.


Fisheries and wildlife

Near the mouth of the Waiau River is the Te Wae Wae
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s, built by the Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Trust on 25 hectares of land leased from
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
and the
Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
. This wetland habitat allows juvenile
whitebait Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine-mes ...
to grow to maturity and other wetland species to breed. It is the largest of several wetland areas developed by the trust to increase the diversity and habitat of Waiau native species and improve the water quality of the river. The area was historically wetland which was drained to convert into farm land. The Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Trust was established in 1996 to mitigate the effects of the Manapōuri Hydro Electric Power Scheme. The trust works with landowners and farmers to improve waterways. "Farming has had an impact on the Waiau catchment so it was important for the Trust to engage with individual farmers and Landcorp who have several farms on the river." said Trust Field Officer Mark Sutton. By filtering agricultural run-off in smaller streams and ponds and fencing
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
off from waterways, the overall health of the Waiau River is able to improve. An estimated 90% of New Zealand wetlands have been lost over the last 150 years due to being drained or filled. The lower Waiau River still has very few wetlands. 150–200 of New Zealand's endangered Black-Billed Gulls were found dead in the lower Waiau River in 2019, autopsies showed the gulls had died from starvation.


Tourism

In March 2007, the Fiordland Trails Trust was established to build a cycle trail along the banks of the Upper Waiau, linking the Township of
Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland, New Zealand, Southland List of regions in New Zealand, region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Māori language, Māori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake ...
to the Township of
Manapouri Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern ...
. A survey of the “ Anduin Reach” was conducted in 2007, and landmark names were proposed based on the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. It was decided that Anduin Reach should be the place name to help promote the future prospects of the Cycle Trail Project. Twelve wetlands are publicly accessible for walking and recreation. The Upper Waiau River is a popular spot for
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
for brown
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
and
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
. In 2017, both the Southern Scenic Jetboat company and the Fiordland Jet Company started running
jetboat A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike a powerboat or motorboat that uses an external propeller in the water below or behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat through a ...
s on the Waiau River.


Gallery

Cycle Trail 9.jpg, Hobbit Lagoon Upper Waiau River Waiau River shallows.jpg, Shallows on the Waiau River Clifden Suspension Bridge Southland I.jpg,
Clifden Suspension Bridge The Clifden Suspension Bridge is a historic suspension bridge near Clifden, New Zealand, with a single lane. Built in 1899, it spans the Waiau River and is 111.5 m long. Designed by the Southland County Engineer C H Howarth, it is a fi ...


Notes


References

* Tony Busch. 2004. ''Trout Fishing: A Guide to New Zealand's South Island'', Published by Stackpole Books, , 264 pages * C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
*Bruce fraser. 2009 "Fiordland Advocate 6 March 2009 page 3" Titled Name with a Ring to it *Ian Brodie. 2002. ''The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook'', Published by Harper Collins, , 96 pages *the New Zealand Herald.200

*the Canberra Times.2009

*Top News International.2009
Lord of the Rings can’t lord over Kiwi landmarks! , TopNews
*the Dominion Post.2009
Bid to get Rings river renamed for tourists
{{Fiordland Rivers of Fiordland Rivers of the Southland Region Foveaux Strait Te Anau