Kawarau River

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Kawarau Bridge Bungy, the world's first commercial bungy site. (A. J. Hackett Bungy Centre on the right)

A major New Zealand lake, Lake Wakatipu, in northwestern Otago, drains to the Kawarau River. The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 km and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. The Shotover River enters it from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south. Containing many rapids and strong currents the river can be dangerous and has claimed many lives.

The Roaring Meg Hydro Scheme discharges into the Kawarau, and at times the lower station has been flooded by the river. A few hundred meters west of the station is a natural bridge where the river narrows to 1.2m wide, which was used as a crossing place by early goldminers. The goldminers were crossing from the Dunedin side on the current Mt Difficulty Station to the northern side on Waitiri Station to get access to the Arrow Goldfields. ^[1]

In the 19th century, gold was extracted from the river. Some of the miners' huts remain today, many of them close to thriving vineyards. In 1924 a company was formed to drain the river by blocking off Lake Wakatipu, with the intent of then collecting gold from the river bed. Ten massive gates were completed in 1927 and although the river level dropped it was not laid bare as planned. The gates now form part of State Highway 6.^[1]. The Goldfields Mining Centre located in the gorge operates demonstration centre with a working exhibition of gold mining techniques.

Tourist adventure activities on the river include jet boating, white water rafting, river surfing, and bungy jumping. The Kawarau Bridge, 43m above the river, is the site of the world's first commercial bungy jumping operation. Eastburn Station gave up the 300 plus acres that forms the natural backdrop as a reserve. The river is also the largest volume commercially rafted in New Zealand, having an average flow of 216 m³/s at Chards Road measuring station.^[2]. The four significant commercially used rapids on the river are Smiths Falls, Twin Bridges, Do Little Do Nothing and the 400m Chinese Dog Leg. Below these are the dangerous Nevis Bluff, Citroen and Roaring Meg sections. Because of the danger Waitiri Station usually declines access. ^[3]

The river also featured as a setting for the 'Pillars of the King' in the 2001 motion picture, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The name should be pronounced to rhyme with "now" but is often pronounced by locals as if it were "K'worra". It should not be confused with the Bay of Plenty town "Kawerau".