Tongariro River facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tongariro River
Looking south towards the Hydro Pool
Country	New Zealand
Physical characteristics
Main source	Tongariro National Park
River mouth	Lake Taupo 356 m (1,168 ft)

The Tongariro River is a famous river located in the North Island of New Zealand. It's known for its beautiful scenery and great fishing.

This river was officially named the Tongariro River in 1945. It starts in the Central Plateau of the North Island. Many smaller streams, called tributaries, flow into it from nearby hills and mountains like Mount Ruapehu.

The Tongariro River then flows north through the town of Turangi. Finally, it empties into Lake Taupo through several river mouths. The amount of water flowing in the river changes, but it's usually between 16 cubic metres per second (570 cu ft/s) and 21 cubic metres per second (740 cu ft/s). After heavy rain in the mountains, the river can become much fuller.

Fun Activities on the Tongariro River

Fishing for Trout

The Tongariro River is New Zealand's most popular river for fishing. People from all over the world come here to catch rainbow trout and brown trout. These fish swim up the river from Lake Taupo during the colder winter months to lay their eggs. About 75% of the trout in the river are rainbow trout, and 25% are brown trout.

What's special about the Tongariro River is that many of its fishing spots, called "pools," have official names. These pools are often named after people who used to fish there, like Major Jones Pool or Duchess Pool. Some are named after their location, such as Birch Pool.

Big floods can change the shape of these pools. For example, in 2004, the Breakaway Pool completely disappeared because the river changed its path. However, some pools, like Major Jones Pool, have stayed almost the same for 50 years. You can find a list of all the pools and where they are at List of pools of the Tongariro River.

Popular ways to fish here include nymphing, wet lining, and dry fly techniques. A special fly fishing cast, called the Tongariro roll cast, was even invented on this river. It helps anglers cast their lines when there are trees or other things behind them.

Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking

The Tongariro River is also a great place for whitewater rafting and kayaking. It has three main sections of whitewater that are very popular: 'Access 14', 'Access 13', and 'Access 10'. These sections offer different levels of difficulty, from grade 3 to grade 4.

There are also easier sections (grade 2) that are less often used. Two main gorges, Tree Trunk Gorge and Waikato Gorge, have whitewater that is almost too difficult to paddle.

Special Water Releases for Fun

Sometimes, extra water is released into the Tongariro River just for fun activities like rafting. This happens three weekends a year. It's done by a company called Genesis Energy. These releases are separate from any water needed for power generation or river maintenance.

The dates for these releases are planned with a group called WhitewaterNZ. Usually, the Access 10 section gets extra water on a Saturday, and Access 14/13 gets it on the Sunday of the same weekend. About 30 cubic metres per second (1,100 cu ft/s) of water is released for 6 to 8 hours.

The Access 14/13 sections usually don't have enough water to paddle without these special releases. This is because a lot of the river's water is used for other purposes. However, Access 10 can often be paddled all year round, even if the water level is a bit low.

See also

In Spanish: Río Tongariro para niños