Waiau River (Southland)

Waiau River
Looking out on the Waiau River
The Waiau River system
Country	New Zealand
Basin features
Main source	184 m (604 ft)
River mouth	Foveaux Strait 0 m (0 ft)
Physical characteristics
Discharge	Average rate: 2,348 m3/s (82,900 cu ft/s)

Waiau River is the largest river in the Southland Region of New Zealand. It is the outflow of Lake Te Anau, flowing from it into Lake Manapouri 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the south, and from there flows south for 70 kilometres (43 mi) before reaching the Foveaux Strait 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Tuatapere. It also takes water from Lake Monowai.

The Upper Waiau River that flows between Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau doubled as the fictional River Anduin at the end of the first film of the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for the scenes where the Uruk-hai chase the Fellowship along the river banks. A proposal that a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) stretch of river below the area known as Balloon Loop be named the Anduin Reach to honour New Zealand film maker Peter Jackson for his use of the area as the River Anduin was rejected by the New Zealand Geographic Board in April 2009.

There are diverse species in the forested catchment basin of the Waiau River. Vegetative understory within most of the Fiordland National Park includes numerous fern species including the Crown Fern, Blechnum discolor.

Several species of endangered birds live around the shores of Lake Te Anau, and the upper Waiau River, notably the Takahē (Notornis hochstetteri). An area between the Middle and South Fiords called the Murchison Mountains is a sanctuary set aside for these birds. The western shore of Lake Te Anau also holds the Te Ana-au Caves, from which Lake Te Anau derives its name.