The Waimangaroa River is located on the West Coast

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 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 passes through tussock, scrub and forested areas before draining into the Karamea Bight in the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

. It passes through the town of Waimangaroa

Waimangaroa

Waimangaroa is a small town located on the West Coast of New Zealand.The township lies on the south-west bank of the Waimangaroa River, at the western foot of the Mt William Range. It is 17 kilometres to the north east of Westport and 13 km south-east of Granity. The abandoned coaltown of...

 and is crossed by the Ngakawau Branch

Seddonville Branch

The Seddonville Branch, now truncated and operating as the Ngakawau Branch, is a branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Construction of the line began in 1874 and it reached its final terminus at the Mokihinui Mine just beyond Seddonville in 1895...

 railway, with the rail bridge brought into service in 1877. That year, the Conns Creek Branch

Conns Creek Branch

The Conns Creek Branch was a short branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It diverged from the Seddonville Branch in Waimangaroa and followed the Waimangaroa River to its terminus at the foot of the Denniston Incline...

 opened, a sub-branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 that closely followed the river east from Waimangaroa to the foot of the Denniston Incline. It closed in 1967.