Te Awa

What is special about the Hangaroa and Ruakituri Rivers?

There are two main rivers in the Tiniroto area that both begin in the Huiarau ranges called the Hangaroa and Ruakituri Rivers.

Both rivers are famous for their trout fishing because they are some of the best fly fishing rivers in New Zealand. In fact we found out that people even come from overseas to fish in these rivers.

Hangaroa and Ruakituri are only rock and that’s why the trout like to live there. There is lots of papa and it gets really slippery in places – especially if you are trying to cross on a horse! There are deep areas for the trout to live and shallow areas for the trout food (grubs). There have been times of drought and the river has been very useful in providing water for the stock and farms that it flows through. It has never been known to dry up! The rivers have also been used from time to time as boundaries for land like between Tauwharetoi and Kainui stations which use the Hangaroa River with its sheer faces on one side as a boundary still today.

Hangaroa River joins to the Ruakituri River at the Te Reinga falls and then flows out to the sea at Wairoa.