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
Little River (New Zealand) Little River (New Zealand) The Little River is a tributary of Rakaia River, about long, in the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand's South Island. It rises on the Mount Hutt and enters the Rakaia above sea level. Little River is also the name of a short river, roughly , on Stewart Island, about a 2-hour walk from Oban. Wairewa marae, a "marae" (tribal meeting ground) of Ngāi Tahu and its Wairewa Rūnanga branch, is located at Little River. It includes Te Mako "wharenui" (meeting house). MainPower’s Cleardale power station, was built in 2010. It takes up to /second through a