Waitaki River
The Waitaki River is a major river in the South Island of New Zealand.
It is a braided river which has Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki at its headwaters. Lake Benmore and Lake Aviemore are contained by hydro dams. The river passes Kurow before entering the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island.
The middle of the river bed forms a political boundary between the Canterbury and Otago regions. A proposal for a series of canals and dams was made by the Meridian Energy for irrigation and electricity generation on the river. This was abandoned in 2004 citing lack of commercial viability as one of a number of reasons.
The river is popular for recreational fishing and jetboating.
See also
List of rivers of New Zealand
