The RangitataGorge is a gorge located in the Canterbury High Country in the South Island of New Zealand. The narrow gorge links the headwaters of the Rangitata River with the fertile Canterbury Plains. The Rangitata gorge is commercially rafted by a local company. It is also a popular river for visiting kayakers, fishermen and adventurist locals in jet boats. The gorge is a class IV to V+ depending on the flow of the river and home to the notable rapids including Rooster's Tail, Pencil Sharpener, The Pinch, Pigs Trough and Hells Gate. [1]
The Rangitata Diversion Race takes water from Klondyke at the bottom of the gorge. Construction of the race began in 1937 and completed in 1944. [2] Today the race is 67 kilometers long and carries a maximum of 30 cubic metres of water per second discharging the remaining water at Highbank into the Rakaia River. [3] The race provides water for various irrigation systems and two power plants at Highbank and Montalto.
On the north bank of the gorge is the Tenehaun Conservation Area which has good views of the gorge. [4] Activities include hiking and mountain biking. [4]
The Ahaura River is in the South Island of New Zealand. This river drains the western flanks of the Southern Alps and flows into the Grey River.
The Kawarau River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm. The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 kilometres (37 mi) and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. Before the construction of the Clyde High Dam, the Kawarau joined the Clutha River / Mata-Au in a spectacular confluence at Cromwell. The Shotover River enters the Kawarau from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south. With many rapids and strong currents, the river can be dangerous and has claimed many lives. It is popular for bungy jumping and kayaking.
Methven is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located near the western edge of the Canterbury Plains, 35 km (22 mi) north of Ashburton and 95 km (59 mi) west of Christchurch, and at an elevation of 320 m (1,050 ft). The town is a service centre for agriculture in the surrounding area, and is a base for skiing at the nearby Mount Hutt skifield. The town slogan is "Amazing Space".
The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 151 kilometres (94 mi) in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean.
The Ashley Gorge is a river gorge of the Ashley River / Rakahuri in Canterbury, New Zealand. The river is bridged at the mouth of the gorge by the Inland Scenic Route, formerly designated State Highway 72. A popular picnic ground and camping area is adjacent to the bridge. Upstream of the gorge the river flows through the Lees Valley.
The Rangitata River is one of the braided rivers of the Canterbury Plains in southern New Zealand. It flows southeast for 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the Southern Alps, entering the Pacific Ocean 30 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Timaru. The river has a catchment area of 1,773 square kilometres (685 sq mi), and a mean annual flow of 95 cubic metres per second (3,400 cu ft/s) at Klondyke.
The Rakaia Gorge is located on the Rakaia River in inland Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island.
Rangitata Island was a long lens-shaped island in the delta of the braided Rangitata River in Canterbury, New Zealand, approximately halfway between Timaru and Ashburton, New Zealand. The island was approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) long and about 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide at its widest. Low lying, the area is mostly fertile farmland.
South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southern Alps form natural boundaries to the east and west respectively. Though the exact boundaries of the region have never been formalised, the term is used for a variety of government agencies and other entities. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of Canterbury, along with Mid Canterbury, North Canterbury, and Christchurch city.
The Perth River is a river in the Southern Alps in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Its source is in terrace icefields north of the Rangitata Divide and is joined by multiple tributaries, including a creek from Abel Lake. It features a number of rapids and passes through two gorges before meeting the Whataroa River. The river is largely inaccessible, but recently, an adventure tourism company has begun offering "heli-rafting" on the river: whitewater rafters are flown in by helicopter to raft the river.
Mid Canterbury is a traditional, semi-official subregion of New Zealand's Canterbury Region extending inland from the Pacific coast to the Southern Alps. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of Canterbury, along with South Canterbury, North Canterbury, and Christchurch City.
The Mohaka river is on the North Island of New Zealand in the east central region of Hawke’s Bay. Mohaka is a Maori word, roughly translated it means “place for dancing”. The iwi associated with the Mohaka River are Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Hineuru, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Mana Ahuriri. The headwaters are found in the Kaweka and Kaimanawa ranges. From the range it winds southeast before twisting northeast and finally southeast again to empty into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Mohaka. There are many gorges on the Mohaka; some as steep as 200m. Its main tributaries are the Waipunga, Taharua, Hautapu rivers. The full length is 172 kilometres (107 mi) and it drains a basin of 2,357 square kilometres (910 sq mi).
The Ashburton River / Hakatere is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, flowing across Mid Canterbury from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean. The official name of the river was amended to become a dual name by the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.
Electricity Ashburton Limited, trading as EA Networks is a co-operatively-owned electricity distribution company, based in Ashburton, New Zealand.
Mesopotamia Station is a high-country station in New Zealand's South Island. Known mainly for one of its first owners, the novelist Samuel Butler, it is probably the country's best known station. Despite popular belief, Butler was not the station's first owner.
Mount Peel is a mountain located in South Canterbury, New Zealand. It consists of three peaks, Mount Peel, Middle Mt Peel and Little Mt Peel/Huatekerekere. Mt Peel is 1,743 metres (5,719 ft) tall and is owned by the Department of Conservation and Mt Peel Station. It lies just south of the Rangitata river and is 22 kilometres (14 mi) north-west of Geraldine.
Mesopotamia is an area of land at the head of the Rangitata River, east of the Southern Alps and inland from Peel Forest. The area is home to the well known Mesopotamia Station which was established by influential novelist Samuel Butler in 1860 after arriving from England. The name Mesopotamia means "between two rivers."
Hakatere Conservation Park is a protected area between the Rakaia River and the Rangitata River in the Ashburton District of New Zealand. The park was established in 2007. It covers 60,000 hectares of rugged mountains and mountain basins, tussocklands and beech forest. It includes the Ashburton Lakes, such as Lake Heron and Lake Clearwater, popular tramping area Mount Somers / Te Kiekie, and Mount Hutt skifield. The closest town is Mount Somers.
The Rangitata Diversion Race or RDR is a combined irrigation and power generation scheme that diverts water from the Rangitata River to irrigate over 66,000 hectares of farmland in Mid-Canterbury, New Zealand. The RDR project was the first major river diversion in New Zealand, and the largest irrigation scheme in the country. It was originally constructed by the Public Works Department between 1937 and 1944. The main canal is 67 km long, 10 m wide and 3 m deep.
Thomas George Gordon Beck was a New Zealand civil engineer who had a leading role in public works engineering projects in New Zealand.