The Kawarau River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm. The river flows generally eastwards for about and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. Before the construction of the Clyde High Dam, the Kawarau joined the Clutha River / Mata-Au in a spectacular confluence at Cromwell. The Shotover River enters the Kawarau from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south. With many rapids and strong currents, the river can be dangerous and has claimed many lives. It is popular for bungy jumping and kayaking. A natural bridge, , where the river narrows to , was important first to early Māori and then to goldminers as the only place the Mata-Au and the Kawarau could be crossed without boats. Māori were heading for the Cardrona Valley to reach Wānaka, and on to the Haast Pass to seek pounamu. The miners were seeking gold in the Arrow Goldfields. Now the main road to Queenstown, State Highway 6, runs through the Kawarau Gorge. Name Kawarau is a Māori name meaning "channel between rocks or shoals". It shares its name with the mountain range at its source. It is pronounced ka wa ro , and has its etymological roots in the Waitaha or southern dialect of Māori. It should not be confused with the Bay of Plenty town of Kawerau. The falls where the river leaves Whakatipi-wai-Maori are called Ōterotu. History For Ngāi Tahu, the river was the main travel route from the Mata-Au to Lake Wakatipu. A key feature was the narrow gorge at or , the only place where the Kawarau and Mata-Au rivers could be leapt over. It connected to a route over the Crown Range and on to the Cardrona Valley that led to the West Coast. In the 19th century, alluvial gold was extracted from the river. The Goldfields Mining Centre, downstream of the gorge, features a working exhibition of 19th century gold mining techniques. Some of the miners' huts remain today, many of them close to thriving vineyards. In 1924 a company was formed to drain the river by blocking off Lake Wakatipu, with the intent of then collecting gold from the river bed. Ten massive gates were completed in 1927 and although the river level dropped it was not laid bare as