Kahutara River

Kahutara River
Kahutara River, view to west-north-west to railway bridge
Location
Country	New Zealand
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Seaward Kaikōura Range
• elevation	1,154 m (3,786 ft)
Mouth
• location	Pacific Ocean
• elevation	0m
Length	27 km (17 mi)

The Kahutara River is a river of New Zealand's South Island. It flows southeast from the Seaward Kaikōura Range, reaching the Pacific Ocean at the tiny settlement of Peketā, 7 kilometres (4 mi) southwest of Kaikōura.

Kāti Māmoe had a pā, Peketā, on the hill to the south of the estuary.^[1] It was excavated in 1958 and 1976,^[2] when a terraced village, with pit houses, and a pā, protected by a ditch and a mound, were found. Part of it has been eroded by the sea cliff.^[3]

Lake Rotorua, to the north of the estuary, was formed by greywacke shingle in the braided river building up to block the mouth of a former tributary.^[4]

The river is bridged by the Inland Kaikōura Road, the Main North railway line and State Highway 1.^[5]

A 4-wheel drive track runs to the east of the upper valley, off the Inland Kaikōura Road, giving access to huts and walks in the Waiau Toa / Clarence River valley, Ka Whata Tu O Rakihouia Conservation Park, Inland Kaikōuras^[6] and to Molesworth Station.^[7] Black-eyed geckos live on rock faces in the Kahutara Saddle area, at the summit of the track. Pests, including possum and mustelids also live there, but very few rats.^[8]

Water quality in the river is tested at 3 sites, which show that, below the Inland Kaikōura Road,^[9][10][11] the "lowland catchment is under some land-use pressures with a mixture of low and high producing grassland".^[12]

Common river galaxias, īnanga, eels (tuna), redfin bully, common bully (toitoi), upland bully, common smelt (pōrohe) and brown trout live in the river.^[13]