The Waitangitaona River is a river of the West Coast Region 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...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. It flows initially north from its origins south of Whataroa

Whataroa

Whataroa is a small township in southern Westland on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the western bank of the Whataroa River, with the village of Te Taho on the other side. State Highway 6 passes through Whataroa on its route from Ross to the Franz Josef Glacier...

 before turning northwest to reach 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...

 three kilometres north of the Okarito Lagoon

Okarito Lagoon

Okarito Lagoon is a coastal lagoon on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located 130 kilometres south of Hokitika, and covers an area of about 12 km², making it the largest unmodified wetland in New Zealand....

. The shorter Waitangiroto River

Waitangiroto River

The Waitangiroto River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows northwest from its origins north of Whataroa to reach the Tasman Sea two kilometres north of the Okarito Lagoon. The lower reaches of the longer Waitangitaona River follow a roughly parallel course...

 follows a roughly parallel course to the lower Waitangitaona one kilometre to the south. Both rivers are linked to the Whataroa River

Whataroa River

The Whataroa River, sometimes the Wataroa River, is a river in the southern West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Its source is in the Southern Alps and it flows north and northwest, passing the township of Whataroa on the eastern side before reaching the Tasman Sea just south of Abut...

, which reaches the Tasman two kilometres to the north of the Waitangitaona's mouth.