Ōpihi River

It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.

[1] The river flows south-east for 75 kilometres (47 mi), reaching the Pacific Ocean 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Timaru.

The town of Fairlie lies on the river's banks.

The banks of the river around the settlement of Waitohi were the site of some of the first flights by pioneer aviator Richard Pearse.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were introduced from California in the 1900s and persist today.