Kawarau Gorge

[1] The gorge begins some 30 kilometres from Queenstown, close to the wine-growing community of Gibbston and the large rock outcrop known as the Nevis Bluff.

The gorge is the site of several extreme sports, including bungy jumping at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, and white-water sports such as kayaking[2] and riverboarding,[3] and one of only two known areas where the nationally critical endangered fungus weevil Cerius otagensis has been found.

[4] The Kawarau gorge's first historical significance was as a travel route to the South Island's West Coast.

Māori were heading for the Cardrona Valley to reach Wānaka, and on to the Haast Pass to seek pounamu.

[7] Three New Zealand Army soldiers died during a training exercise in 2005 when their Unimog fell 100 m down the gorge into the river.