Shotover River
The river the 1862 gold rush was built on, and the one most Queenstown adventure operators still run on. Where to see it, who works it, and what the water does after rain.
The Shotover rises in the Southern Alps, runs about 75 km south through Skippers Canyon, and joins the Kawarau east of town. Its Māori name is Kimiākau. If you have been on a jet boat, a raft or a canyon swing in Queenstown, you have almost certainly been on this river.
The richest river in the world
Gold was found on the Shotover at Arthurs Point in November 1862, and the rush that followed made Queenstown. At Maori Point, two prospectors, Raniera (Dan) Ellison and Hakaria Haeroa, took 300 ounces in a single day. The miners of the 1860s called it the richest river in the world, and while no official record ever backed the claim, nothing about the returns from those first years makes it sound unreasonable. Chinese miners arrived from 1866 and worked ground the Europeans had already been over.
On the water
Most of Queenstown's water-based operators are here.
- Shotover Jet runs the Shotover Canyons from Arthurs Point, ten minutes from town.
- Skippers Canyon Jet works the upper river, with the Skippers road trip included.
- Rafting runs the grade 3 to 5 water below Skippers from about November to April, and goes through the Oxenbridge Tunnel, which miners cut to divert the river and expose the bed.
- The Shotover Canyon Swing operates from the cliffs above the river, with check-in in town.
See things to do on the water for the full list.
Seeing it without booking anything
The Edith Cavell Bridge at Arthurs Point gives you the gorge from above, and you can usually watch the jet boats from it. Tucker Beach, off Tucker Beach Road about fifteen minutes north of town, gets you down onto the braided lower river with ordinary two-wheel-drive access. The Skippers road is the dramatic option and the one that needs a tour or the right vehicle.
Skippers Bridge has been closed to vehicles, cyclists and walkers since January 2026, after an inspection found broken wires in its suspension cables. The council has not set a reopening date, so do not plan a day around crossing it.
What the water does
There is no dam on the Shotover. The river answers to rain and snowmelt instead, which means it can come up fast and dirty and drop clear again within a day or two — worth knowing if you have booked something that depends on the level. It has frozen bank to bank three times in living memory. See Queenstown weather for the seasons.
More in Rivers
See all
Kawarau River
The river that drains Lake Wakatipu and runs east through the Kawarau Gorge to Cromwell. Where commercial bungy started, and where the rafting runs.
Dart River
Te Awa Whakatipu, the braided glacier-fed river above Glenorchy. An old pounamu route, an Isengard filming location, and the one river up here with a jet boat concession.
Rees River
The braided valley running down to Glenorchy from the Richardson and Forbes mountains. The quieter of the two big valleys above the lake, and the start of the Rees Track.