Shotover River
Gold-rich river now used for jet boating and rafting.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Shotover River · see source
Where it is
Coordinates: 44°48′29″S 168°44′10″E (-44.8080, 168.7360) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Shotover River (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
The Shotover River (Kimiākau) runs 75 km through the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island, flowing fast with numerous rapids. It travels south from the Southern Alps through Skippers Canyon, draining the area between the Richardson Mountains and the Harris Mountains before emptying into the Kawarau River east of Queenstown. The Edith Cavell bridge crosses the river at Arthurs Point. Known for its gold-rich history, the river now draws tourists for jet boating and rafting.
Tourist operations
The Shotover River was once among the world's richest gold-bearing rivers. Prospectors began working it in 1862 after a discovery at Arthurs Point, using pans, cradles, sluices, and dredges. Today, hobbyists still search for gold on the river and its tributaries, Moke and Moonlight Creeks. Tourism now dominates the river, with commercial rafting and jet boat trips operating from Queenstown.
A canyon swing is located just above Arthurs Point. Three jet boat firms and two rafting companies hold rights to the water. Much of the land upstream from Arthurs Point belongs to Robert Lange, Shania Twain’s former husband.
Naming
The Māori name Kimiākau means 'looking for the coast', likely referring to the area as a route to the West Coast in search of pounamu. Two Scottish pioneers, Donald Angus Cameron and Angus Alphonse Macdonald, had previously called the river Tummel.
Did You Know?
- The river froze bank-to-bank near Skippers Canyon in July 1991 and June 1992.
- The Oxenbridge Tunnel is a 170 m tunnel from a failed mining scheme by the Oxenbridge brothers.
- The old lower Shotover bridge, built in 1915, is 172.5 metres long with tall concrete piers.
- Two Scottish pioneers named the river Tummel before William Gilbert Rees renamed it Shotover.
More in Otago Gold Rush
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Shotover River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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