Shotover River
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The Shotover River is located in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. The name correctly suggests that this 60 kilometre-long river is fast flowing, with numerous rapids. Despite this, the name actually comes from a park in Oxfordshire, England.
The river flows generally south from the Southern Alps on its journey running through the Skippers Canyon, before draining into the Kawarau River ten kilometres east of Queenstown.
Gold mining featured in its early history and it was one of the richest gold bearing rivers in the world. It is now a popular river for tourism. The river is used for commercial white water rafting trips which operate out of the nearby tourist resort of Queenstown. There are bungy jumping sites on the upper reaches of the river around Skippers Canyon. The Shotover Jet company runs New Zealand's famed jetboats over the Canyon river as a major tourist attraction. The jet boats cruise at high speeds over shallow waters performing thrilling stunts like 360 degree pirouettes in the water.
The Oxenbridge Tunnel is a short tunnel which was part of a scheme to divert water in order to recover gold from the bed of the river.
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