Description and history

This reach begins at the sea and extends about 1 km inland to the high tide mark.

The hāpua is a long, narrow, shallow coastal estuary. It is partially enclosed by a gravel beach. Hāpua are a distinctive part of the Canterbury coastline but are uncommon globally.

The Rakitata hāpua provides critical breeding habitat for fish and birdlife, including:

• black-billed gull/tarāpuka
• black-fronted tern/tarapiroe
• banded dotterel/tūturiwhatu
• white-fronted tern/tara
• bully fish, flounder
• whitebait/īnaka
• eel/tuna
• lamprey/kanakana
• Stockell’s smelt.

There are many significant sites in this area including kāika nohoaka (settlements), pā tawhito (historic fortified sites) and urupā (burial sites). It is also a significant mahika kai (food gathering) resource for mana whenua.

Opportunities to revive this reach

Proposed actions include:

• support climate change resilience for the river and the community
• support research on the hāpua system and its taoka (treasured) species
• enable our community to connect and work together to revive the river at this focal point
• protect and enhance bank vegetation where īnaka spawn
• control predators to protect mega-colonies of seabirds and fish spawning areas
• remove weeds in tidal wetlands and riverside land
• build the start of a river-long trail to explain the cultural heritage of the river.

Description and history

This reach begins at the high tide mark and ends at Badham Road.

The coastal area was used by mana whenua for campsites and a traditional travel route. It was also significant for mahika kai. The river’s south branch re-enters the main channel in this reach but actions are included in the lower river reach.

Coldstream Reserve is part of this section and rare, spring-fed systems including Ōtakitane/ McKinnon’s Creek run parallel to the river’s southern bank. Ōtakitane supports a salmon hatchery and is surrounded by dairy farms. Higher levels of nitrate and E. coli are present in tributaries here, and restoration work to mitigate some of these effects is underway.

Colonies of native birds including black-billed gulls and black-fronted terns are threatened by predation and a lack of habitat.

Opportunities to revive this reach

Proposed actions include:

• weed control and native planting to support mahika kai, native fish and taoka species, and act as corridors for native habitat recovery
• work with landowners, industry and the community to improve water quality and habitat
• control woody weeds to provide habitat and accommodate flood flows.

Site description and history

This reach is from Badham Road to the Arundel Road bridge, 22km upstream. It includes the State Highway 1 and rail bridges, main trunk power lines, irrigation ponds, flood protection infrastructure and the separation of the south branch from the main river.

Here, river flows are modified by water takes for irrigation that support agriculture across large areas of Canterbury. A water conservation order sets minimum flows to protect the river’s outstanding characteristics and features, and while water taken for irrigation is within these parameters it still results in river flows being halved across sections of the flow regime. This is perhaps the most contentious issue across the river.

Agriculture is a significant part of the regional economy, but farm intensification has reduced water quality across tributaries and groundwater in this reach.

Woody weeds are in the main channel and stop the river moving freely across its full width. The weeds have also reduced the amount of open gravel habitat, which is important for ground-nesting birds like black-fronted terns.

Opportunities to revive this reach

Proposed actions include:

• catalogue and restore traditional mahika kai sites to allow cultural harvest
• research how water takes are affecting river values to help manage it better
• investigate ways to increase the amount of open braided riverbed
• fence and plant areas to improve water quality, fish habitat and support regeneration
• develop a shared vision for managing the river’s south branch.

Site description and history

This reach is from the Arundel Road bridge to the bottom of the Rakitata Gorge 24km upstream. It is steeper, has deeper channels and flows more rapidly.

Tarahaoa/Mt Peel is an ancestral mauka (mountain) and wahi tohu (locating landmark) that guards the entrance to this section. Some native forest remains on the slopes of Tarahaoa. Podocarp, broadleaf and beech forest here is part of a rare, complete sequence of habitats from riverbed to alpine.

While irrigation is used in this reach, a water conservation order (see also lower river reach) sets a minimum flow to protect the area’s outstanding characteristics and features.

Opportunities to revive this reach

Proposed actions include:

• research river processes, impacts and ecosystems to inform river management
• bring together environmental advocates such as the existing conservation work by Project Peel, Jobs for Nature, Arowhenua, the Upper Rangitata Gorge Landcare Group and the Peel Forest Outdoor Centre
• fence and plant river margins with natives to support taoka species, and carry out predator control
• create recovery plans and reintroduce taoka species such as kiwi, whio/blue duck, weka and kanakana
• establish a cultural trail.

Site description and history

This reach is from below the Rangitata Gorge to the confluence of Havelock and Clyde Rivers at Cloudy Peak 38km upstream.

Here, stunning landscapes include sweeping tussock lands, shrublands, beech forest and rock fields that are snow-covered in winter. It includes iconic high-country stations and large areas of public conservation land in Te Kahui Kaupeka and Hakatere Conservation Parks. They are popular for tramping, climbing, fishing and hunting and the Te Araroa Trail crosses this area. Rafters and jetboaters use the river here for recreation and it’s a national hot spot for salmon fishing.

This stretch of river is a protected water in the Water Conservation (Rangitata River) Order 2006.

Traditional Māori trails linked the lowlands to Ōtuwharekai (Hakatere/Ashburton Basin) for seasonal food gathering, then continued upstream to the headwaters and across to the West Coast.

Opportunities to revive this reach

Proposed actions include:

• support for the landcare group to continue its coordination of landscape-scale weed control that protects the braided river system
• fencing protects sensitive mountain spring systems, including those at Black Mountain and Mount Sunday
• predator control protects threatened nesting river birds including ngutu pare/wrybill
• iconic red tussock wetlands are fenced.

Site description and history

This reach extends from the confluence of Havelock and Clyde Rivers to the top of the catchment. It is a remote and sensitive area, containing alpine springs and rock buttresses, glacial fields, tarns, tussock and scrublands, stone fields, beech forest remnant, creeks and active braided river channels.

The headwaters are part of a wānaka (place of learning), where atua (gods) could be communed with. Māori used this area to access the West Coast by crossing a high pass into the headwaters of the Whataroa River. 

The Water Conservation (Rangitata River) Order 2006 acknowledges and protects the outstanding and natural state of the waters in this reach.

Opportunities to revive this reach

Proposed actions include:

• protect critical habitats for threatened and non-migrating fish and invertebrates
• protect the dramatic mountain landscapes and values of the water conservation order
• keep a watching brief on the use of vehicles in this area to ensure higher use doesn’t cause damage
• monitor and control weeds to ensure lupin, broom and tamarisk do not become dominant
• explore creating a cultural trail and recognition of a river park in this area.