Waiau River (Southland)
| Waiau River | |
|---|---|
Looking out on the Waiau River | |
Route of the Waiau River | |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | The Outlet |
| • location | Lake Te Anau |
| • coordinates | 45°26′26″S 167°41′13″E / 45.440501°S 167.687044°E |
| • elevation | 184 m (604 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Te Waewae Bay, Foveaux Strait |
• coordinates | 46°11′40″S 167°36′53″E / 46.194567°S 167.614861°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Waiau River → Te Waewae Bay → Foveaux Strait |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Home Creek, Mararoa River, Excelsior Creek, Whare Creek, Little Creek, Redcliff Creek, Waicoe Creek, Makarewa Stream, McIvor Creek, Wairaki River, Merton Creek, Orauea River, Boundary Creek, Camp Creek |
| • right | Forest Burn, Borland Burn, Monowai River, Diggers Creek, Dean Burn, Lill Burn, Alton Burn |
| Waterbodies | Yerex Reach, Queens Reach, Rainbow Reach, Wairoa, Balloon Loop, Boulder Reach, Lake Manapouri |
| Bridges | Rainbow Reach Bridge, Clifden Suspension Bridge, Waiau River Bridge, |
| Inland ports | Pearl Harbour |
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The Waiau River is the largest river in the Southland region of New Zealand. 'Waiau' translates to 'River of Swirling Currents'. It is the outflow of Lake Te Anau, flowing from it into Lake Manapouri 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the south, and from there flows south for 70 kilometres (43 mi) before reaching the Foveaux Strait 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Tuatapere. It also takes water from Lake Monowai.
The Upper Waiau River that flows between Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau doubled as the fictional River Anduin at the end of the first film of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for the scenes where the Uruk-hai chase the Fellowship along the river banks. A proposal that a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) stretch of river below the area known as Balloon Loop be named the Anduin Reach to honour New Zealand film maker Peter Jackson for his use of the area as the River Anduin was rejected by the New Zealand Geographic Board in April 2009.