Kawarau River

The Kawarau drains Lake Wakatipu at Frankton and runs east for about 60 km to Lake Dunstan, near Cromwell. The Shotover joins it from the north and the Nevis from the south. For much of the middle stretch it runs through the Kawarau Gorge, and the road to Cromwell follows it the whole way — which is why most people meet the river from a car window before they meet it any other way.

Where bungy started

The Kawarau Bridge stands 43 metres above the water, and in November 1988 AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the world's first commercial bungy jump from it. It still runs, and the Kawarau Bungy Centre beside it is free to walk into if you would rather watch than jump. The decks look straight down at the bridge.

See bungy jumping in Queenstown for how the Kawarau jump compares with the Nevis and the Ledge.

On the water

The Kawarau is one of the district's main rafting rivers, and jet boats run on it as well. Both are commercially operated — the gorge is not a stretch to take on unguided.

Gold, wine and power

Gold was worked out of the Kawarau through the 19th century, and miners' huts still stand along it, several now within sight of vineyards: the Gibbston valley grows on the terraces above the gorge. The Roaring Meg power station sits on the river between Queenstown and Cromwell.

On screen

The Kawarau Gorge appears in The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings filming locations page has the routes, access notes and which sites are on private land.