Download Teacher`s Notes

Bee-Bot New Zealand Geography
Teachers Notes and Suggested Activities
The New Zealand Geography Mat can be used to learn;
 Awareness of New Zealand – regions, cities, volcanos, mountains, geothermal areas and much more…
 Control programming
 Problem solving and collaboration
 Map skills and measurement
New Zealand’s 10 Largest Rivers
1. Waikato
2. Clutha
3. Whanganui
4. Taieri
5. Rangitikei
6. Mataura
7. Waiau
8. Clarence
9. Waitaki
10.
Oreti
Bee-bot New Zealand – Rivers – Teachers notes
1. Waikato
Situated in the North Island and is New Zealand’s largest river at 425 kms long.
It rises in the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, and empties into Lake Taupo. It flows
from Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the Huka Falls, and then flows
northwest, through the Waikato Plains. It empties into the Tasman Sea south of
Auckland, at Port Waikato. It gives its name to the Waikato Region that surrounds the
Waikato Plains. The present course of the river was largely formed by the large volcanic
eruption from the Lake Taupo volcanic complex about 1800 years ago.
The name Waikato comes from the Māori language and translates as flowing water.
The Waikato River has spiritual meaning for various local Māori tribes, including the
large Tainui, who regard it as a source of their mana, or pride. The widely-respected
marae of Turangawaewae is close to its banks at Ngaruawahia.
2. Clutha
The Clutha River or Mata-Au is the second longest river in New Zealand flowing southsoutheast 322 kilometres through Central and South Otago from Lake Wanaka in the
Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres south west of Dunedin. It is the
highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest. The Clutha River is known for its
scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the
Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway,
with a trail, along the entire river corridor.
The waters of the Upper Clutha are clear turquoise, the result of glacial and snow-melt
filtering when the water flows through Lake Wanaka. This is a rare characteristic for a
high volume river. Below Cromwell, where the silt-laden Kawarau enters, the waters are
less turquoise.
Several major floods have occurred on the Clutha, most notably the “Hundred year
floods” of 14–16 October 1878 and 13–15 October 1978. The 1878 flood is regarded as
New Zealand's greatest known flood. During this, a bridge at Clydevale was washed
downstream, where it collided with the Balclutha Road Bridge, destroying the latter.
There are two hydroelectric power stations, the Clyde Dam and the Roxburgh Dam,
located on the river providing electricity to the New Zealand power grid.
3. Whanganui
With a length of 290 km, the Whanganui is the country's third-longest river. Much of the
land to either side of the river's upper reaches is part of the Whanganui National Park,
though the river itself is not part of the park.
The river rises on the northern slopes of Mount Tongariro, one of the three active
volcanoes of the central plateau, and close to Lake Rotoaira. It flows to the north-west
before turning south-west at Taumarunui. From here it runs through the rough, bushclad hill country of the King Country before turning south-east and flowing past the small
settlements of Pipiriki and Jerusalem, before reaching the coast at Whanganui. It is the
country's longest navigable river.
In the 1970s a minor eruption from Mount Ruapehu spilled some of the contents from
the Ruapehu Crater Lake. This toxic water entered the Whanganui River and had the
effect of killing much of the fish life downstream. In the aftermath of the poisoning eels
as large as 8.2 kg and trout as large as 2.3 kg were washed up dead along the banks of
the river.
Despite being NZ's longest navigable river, the Whanganui has surprisingly few road
bridges. Only two are located on the 230 km stretch between Whanganui and
Taumarunui. The Whanganui River is also home to the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’.
4. Taieri
The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is located in Otago. The
Taieri initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning
southeast, reaching the sea 30 km south of Dunedin.
The upper reaches meander in a series of convoluted loops across a floodplain near
Paerau before running through two small hydroelectric power stations before Patearoa
in the Maniototo. The Taieri then turns almost 180 degrees, entering a wide glacial
valley surrounded by rugged hill ranges. Immediately downstream is the Taieri Gorge.
This is known for the Taieri Gorge Railway, which follows a route into Central Otago. In
the Taieri's lower reaches there is a broad floodplain (the Taieri Plains) containing much
of Otago's most fertile farmland. The river then flows through the lower Taieri Gorge to
the Pacific Ocean at Taieri Mouth.
The Taieri is 288 km long of which the last 20 km are navigable.
The name "Taieri" is thought to come from the Māori word taiari meaning "spring tide".
5. Rangitikei
The Rangitikei River is 241 kilometres long. Its headwaters are to the southeast of Lake
Taupo in the Kaimanawa Ranges. It flows from the Central Plateau south past Taihape,
Mangaweka, Hunterville, Marton, and Bulls, through to Tangimoana, 40 kilometres
southeast of Wanganui. The river gives its name to the surrounding Rangitikei District.
In 1897 the river flooded and all six bridges over it were damaged or destroyed. The port
at the mouth of the river was also washed away and never rebuilt.
The river is a popular leisure and recreation area for jetboating, white water rafting,
kayaking and fishing, and includes public camp grounds along its banks, including
Vinegar Hill. Its sheer vertical "paapa" (clay) cliffs (unique to this part of New Zealand)
and deep canyons provide the perfect setting for adventure activities such as bungy
jumps and flying fox rides. Gravity Canyon on the Mokai reach is a world-famous
attraction. Part of the river was used as the Anduin River in Peter Jackson's movie The
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
6. Mataura
The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is
240 kilometres in length. The river's headwaters are located in mountains to the south
of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, where it turns southward.
It then passes through the town of Mataura, and enters the Pacific Ocean at Toetoes Bay
on the southern coast of the South Island.
The Mataura is renowned as a source of brown trout, and is a popular fishing venue. It
has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it
supports breeding colonies of the endangered Black-billed Gull.
7. Waiau
Waiau River is the largest river in the Southland Region. It is the outflow of Lake Te
Anau, flowing from it into Lake Manapouri 10 kilometres to the south, and from there
flows south for 70 kilometres before reaching the Foveaux Strait eight kilometres 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 The Lord of the Rings film
trilogy, for the scenes where the Uruk-hai chase the Fellowship along the river banks.
Several species of endangered birds live around the shores of Lake Te Anau, and the
upper Waiau River, notably the Takahē (Notornis hochstetteri). An area between the
Middle and South Fiords called the Murchison Mountains is a sanctuary set aside for
these birds. The western shore of Lake Te Anau also holds the Te Ana-au Caves, from
which Lake Te Anau derives its name.
8. Clarence
The Clarence River is located in the South Island of New Zealand. It is 209 kilometres
long and the eighth longest river in New Zealnd.
For its first 50 kilometres, the river runs in a generally southeastern direction. It then
turns northeast, running down a long straight valley between the Inland and Seaward
Kaikoura Ranges. At the end of the Seaward Kaikouras, the river runs through rolling hill
country before draining into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Clarence.
A large part of the river is within the boundaries of Molesworth Station. Molesworth
Station is located behind the Inland Kaikoura Mountain range in the South Island's
Marlborough district. It is New Zealand's largest farm, at over 1,800 km², and supports
the country's biggest herd of cattle. It also hosts government science programs, such as
research into bovine tuberculosis and related research into possums.
9. Waitaki
The Waitaki River is a large river in the South Island of New Zealand, some 209 km long.
It is the major river of the Mackenzie Basin which is well known due to its clean, dry and
dark sky, and serves as an important area for New Zealand-based astronomy, with a
number of related facilities located there, including the nation's premier astronomical
observatory, the University of Canterbury's Mount John University Observatory, and
several amateur observatories. It flows through Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake
Waitaki. These are ultimately fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo, and Ohau.
Lake Benmore and Lake Aviemore are contained by hydroelectric dams, Benmore Dam
and Aviemore Dam.
The river’s flow is normally low in winter, with flows increasing in spring when the snow
on the Southern Alps begins to melt, and flows throughout the summer being rainfall
dependent and then declining in the autumn as the colder weather begins to freeze the
smaller streams and streams which feed the catchment.
The middle of the river bed forms a political boundary between the Canterbury and
Otago regions.
10.Oreti
The Oreti (or New) River is one of the main rivers of Southland, New Zealand, and is 203
kilometres in length. The river, as has the Mataura River, has been identified as an
Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because, for much of its length, it supports
breeding colonies of Black-billed Gulls.
The Oreti has its headwaters close to the Mavora Lakes between Lake Te Anau and Lake
Wakatipu, and flows south across the Southland Plains to its outflow into Foveaux Strait
at the southeastern end of Oreti Beach. En route, it runs through the towns of Lumsden
and Winton, before passing through the city of Invercargill, close to the river's estuary.
For the final part of the river's length, it runs around the city of Invercargill and the
river's estuary just south of the city, it is known as the New River, a name occasionally
used to refer to the whole river.