a wide variety of food sources, including birds (such as kererū, tūī, and tītī), plants (such as harakeke, raupō, and kiekie), and seafood (such as pāua, kina and pipi). The river's floodplains provided ample fertile soil for the development of gardens, with a large agricultural community developing around the area's many pā farming crops including kūmara, which typically would not be able to grow so far south. The Māori name for the river, Waiau Toa, points to a legend regarding this river and the nearby Waiau Uwha River. Both of these rivers have their sources on either side of the St James Range, separated by roughly , before flowing in different directions and ending apart at their mouths. According to legend, the Waiau Toa and Waiau Uwha were lovers who for reasons unknown were turned into their respective rivers, with the increased flow from snow melt said to represent their weeping from being separated. The origins of the European name for the river are unclear. The name 'Clarence River' first appears on an 1856 chart of the region alongside the Māori name, however this is believed to be a recording of an earlier name in honour of King William IV, who was the Duke of Clarence prior to his ascension to the throne potentially by local politician and premier Frederick Weld. The European and Māori names for the river have been used interchangeably for much of the river's history following European settlement, and in 2018 the river was officially gazetted as Waiau Toa / Clarence River, becoming one of many New Zealand places to have a dual name. Geography The Clarence River begins near Clarence Pass in the Spenser Mountains, just beyond the northern end of the Southern Alps. The upper river flows through Lake Tennyson before joining up with Princess Stream and Serpentine Creek and flowing south for roughly towards Hanmer Springs. Upon reaching the Hanmer Range, the river turns and flows east for and north for a further , taking the river towards Molesworth Station and its confluence with the Acheron River. From here, the Clarence enters a long, straight valley where it separates the Inland and Seaward Kaikōura Ranges, flowing roughly parallel to the coastline and Awatere River. This portion is popular with packrafters for the variety and remoteness it offers. Towards the northern end of the Seaward Kaikōuras, the river turns towards the coast through a