Rivers of New Zealand Rivers of New Zealand The rivers of New Zealand are used for a variety of purposes and face a number of environmental issues. Many of the rivers in the South Island are braided rivers. The longest river in New Zealand is the Waikato River with a length of . The largest river by volume is the Clutha River with a mean discharge of . Some of the rivers, especially those with wide flood plains and stop banks, have long road bridges spanning them. The Rakaia River is crossed by the longest bridge in New Zealand at . The third longest
New Zealand wine wineries or commercial growers, with a total vineyard area of , or about 3% of the New Zealand total. Nearly half of this area is Pinot Noir, the remainder mostly Sauvignon Blanc, with smaller areas of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Syrah. Martinborough is a small wine village located east of Wellington by road, in the South Wairarapa. The combination of topography, geology, climate and human effort has led to the region becoming one of New Zealand's premier wine regions in spite of its small size, particularly for Pinot Noir. The growing season from flowering to harvest is amongst the longest