Conway River

The Conway River rises in the Amuri Range near Palmer Saddle on New Zealand’s South Island and forms part of the traditional boundary between the Canterbury and Marlborough regions. Over roughly thirty kilometres it first flows southeast through the Hundalee Hills at the southern end of the Seaward Kaikōura Mountains before swinging northeast to reach the Pacific Ocean at Conway Flat, about thirty kilometres south of Kaikōura. Its course shifts from narrower, terrace-lined sections in the hill country to a wider braided gravel bed in the lower reaches and creates a small, occasionally closed coastal lagoon at the mouth. Upper and middle valley sections invite walks through the hills together with access for hunting, while the lower stretches and river mouth provide opportunities for trout fishing, whitebaiting, swimming, picnicking and beach surfcasting, and can also support jet boating when flows are high enough.