Mokau River
Encyclopedia
The Mokau River is located in the North Island
of New Zealand
.
The river rises as a spring in the Pureroa Forest, south of Te Kuiti
, on the slopes of the Rangitoto Range and after briefly following a north-westward course it turns south-westwards and flows for 158 kilometres through the Waitomo District
. It enters the North Taranaki Bight
at its mouth at Mokau
.
Although the rivermouth is enclosed by a large sandbar, with a high tide, larger vessels can pass safely and enter the river, which is navigable for 37 kilometres upstream. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the banks of the river were host to a thriving industry of logging and coal-mining. However, the risks and costs of transporting goods down the Mokau eventually ended such enterprise.
Today the river is a popular whitebaiting
and kayaking
location.
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The river rises as a spring in the Pureroa Forest, south of Te Kuiti
Te Kuiti
Te Kuiti is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 80 km south of Hamilton....
, on the slopes of the Rangitoto Range and after briefly following a north-westward course it turns south-westwards and flows for 158 kilometres through the Waitomo District
Waitomo District
Waitomo District is a territorial authority in the north of the King Country region in the North Island of New Zealand. A small part of the district, the town of Tiroa, however, lies in the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
. It enters the North Taranaki Bight
North Taranaki Bight
The North Taranaki Bight is the name given to the large bay which extends north and east from the north coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. The name is echoed by the South Taranaki Bight to the south of Cape Egmont....
at its mouth at Mokau
Mokau
Mokau is a small town on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island, located at the mouth of the Mokau River on the North Taranaki Bight. Mokau lies just north of the boundary between the Taranaki Region and the Waikato Region...
.
Although the rivermouth is enclosed by a large sandbar, with a high tide, larger vessels can pass safely and enter the river, which is navigable for 37 kilometres upstream. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the banks of the river were host to a thriving industry of logging and coal-mining. However, the risks and costs of transporting goods down the Mokau eventually ended such enterprise.
Today the river is a popular whitebaiting
Whitebait
Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between 25 and 50 millimetres long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along the coast, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught with fine meshed fishing nets...
and kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
location.