Mokau River

The Mokau river entering the North Taranaki Bight, with Mokau beach in the foreground

The Mokau River is located in the North Island of New Zealand.

The river rises as a spring in the Pureora Forest, south of Te Kuiti, on the slopes of the Rangitoto Range. After briefly following a north-westward course, it turns south-westwards and flows for 158 kilometres (98 mi) through the Waitomo District of the King Country. It enters the North Taranaki Bight at its mouth at the town of Mokau.

Although the rivermouth is enclosed by a large sandbar, with a high tide, larger vessels can pass safely and enter the river, which is navigable for 37 kilometres (23 mi) upstream. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the banks of the river were host to a thriving industry of logging and coal-mining. However, the risks and costs of transporting goods down the Mokau eventually ended such enterprise.

Today the river is a popular whitebaiting and kayaking location.

See also

Wairere Falls power station

References

    Further reading

    External links

    Coordinates: 38°42′00″S 174°37′23″E / 38.699942°S 174.622961°E / -38.699942; 174.622961


    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.