Tokomairiro River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tokomairiro River is located in Otago, New Zealand. It flows southeast for some 50 kilometres, reaching the Pacific Ocean 50 kilometres south of Dunedin. The town of Milton is located on the Tokomairiro's floodplain, close to the junction of its two main branches (which run past the north and south ends of the town).

The name of the river is Māori, and translates roughly as 'place where canoe must be poled' (a possible reference to the method needed to travel through the extensive wetlands, instead of the usual paddling). The Tokomairiro River is prone to seasonal flooding during the heavy rainfall months--August to October. Local industrial buildings have been forced to build high concrete walls around their property to reduce flood damage each year.