8/8/2019 Mokihinui River, New Zealand

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The tundrous roar of narby rapids

nvlops m as I watc t arlymorning sun pntrat t dark

grn dpts of t Mokiinui Gorg,igligting its smoot granit surfacwr t mountain appars as if it asbn slicd in alf and trs stand paralll

to t illsid.Im at Wlcom Crk sit of a

proposd 85-mtr ydro-lctricitydam. Tis plac is indd wlcoming: a

curv in t rivr at t bottom ntrancto t gorg, wit giant rock outcrops,

dp pools, and t constant cascading ofwatr ovr grywack bouldrs. Its futurprospcts, if t ydro scm gos aad,ar anyting but wlcom.

W av com to s t rivr undrt xprt guidanc of long-tim Forst

& Bird mmbr, trampr and Old Blurcipint Pt Lusk, wos connctionswit t Mokiinui Rivr dat back mortan 30 yars, to s wat Mridian enrgy,a Nw Zaland Stat-ownd ntrpris, is

planning for tis bautiful, fr-flowingrivr.

Nstld undr t wstrn souldr ofKaurangi National Park, t Mokiinui ist Wst Coasts tird largst rivr, drainingt vast uplands and mountains of tLyll, Radiant, Glasgow, Alln and MatiriRangs, falling stply troug granit and

limston gorgs, mrging to mandracross opn flats, bfor gatring all itswatrs togtr and making a dtrmindcarg for t coast troug a stpartquak-sattrd gorg.

Rlasd from t gorg, it flows brifly

troug alluvial flats and a small srisof limston outcrops nar t smallsttlmnts of Sddonvill and Mokiinuibfor finally flowing into t Tasman Sa.

It is a volatil rivr, rflcting t intnsdownpours for wic t Wst Coast isnotorious. In tims of flood, t watrfrquntly turns t Mokiinui Forks

conflunc into a vast lak as watr buildsup bind t bottlnck formd by tnarrow gorg.

Vnturing into t gorg, w s tallpodocarps fstoond wit kiki, ratamaking a glorious lat summr sow, anddns bc forst cloting t ills.

Lowr trracs provid a moist, warmavn for rimu, kaikata, matai and miro.Abundant in t ric alluvial soils of tbottom slops of t gorg, tir rangyigts lifting tm abov t canopy ofbc. Patcs of broadlaf forst and a

dnsly packd undrstory of small-lavdrata and luxuriant frns triv on wll-draind rivr trracs.

Wid-girtd nikau flouris on tfrost-fr slops. Poorly draind surfacsprovid boggy patcs for dns moss

The Mokiinui Rivr on t

Wst Coast is on of NwZalands most stunning

rivrs and om to som

of our most tratnd

wildlif. Yt a proposd

ydro-scm could dstroy

t Mokiinui Rivr as w

know it. Dbs Martin visits a

rivr undr trat.

Mokiinui magic

Pete LuskProposed dam site on the Mohikinui River

DebsMartin

DebsMartin

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8/8/2019 Mokihinui River, New Zealand

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MeridianEnergy

Dam sit

HaroldJohnston(suppliedbyDougJohnston)

Mokiinui

Nikau

Sddonvill

MokihinuiRiver

Karame

ahig

way

Summrla

Miko

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mats and rgnrating kaikata and rimuforsts. Slips ar frqunt and mosss,

licns and rbfilds quickly tak old int nooks and crannis among t blocksof granit and grywack.

T gorg is om to a numbr ofndangrd fauna. elvn bird spcis, twogiant land snail (Powelliphanta) spcis,and Sout Island long-taild bats av all

bn rcordd in tis 16km strtc.Blu duck (wio) is on of t most

vulnrabl spcis found r rcntsurvys found svn birds on t rivr.Littl is known about tis populationand ow it survivs t frqunt floods

tat rgularly lift t rivr flow up to six

View looking upstream from the dam, showing thereservoir lake before and after the flooding of theriver valley.

Historic photographs of the Mokihinui after the 1929 Murchison earthquake demonstrate the power ofthe seismic forces active in the area and the damage they can wreak.

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Rough and Tumble CreekForest in the river valley is virtually untouched byhuman exploitation.

DebsMartin

DebsMartin

mtrs ig along t gorg walls it issuspctd t wio may rtrat to t manytributaris straming into t gorg.

Nativ wildlif also flouriss blow trivrs surfac: long-finnd l and giantand sort-jawd kokopu ar abundant r.

Mokiinui mans big raft ontraditionally mad from raupo and usd byMaori to cross major watrways, suggstingtat tis was t mod of transport usd by

arly Maori travllrs r.

It is also a gorg stpd in istoryof arly europan xploration, wit toriginal pack rout to Karama clinging tot stp vally sids bfor crossing trivr and winding its way up a dligtfully-

namd tributary, t Roug and Tumbl.evidnc of ancint campsits and ttwistd rmains of t original bridg canb accssd from todays Dpartmnt ofConsrvation track.

D

ebsMartin

Western weka

Tr ar sobr rmindrs of tpowr of t sismic forcs at play in tisartquak-pron land as t track passsby two mmorial crosss of mn wo didin massiv slips brougt down by t 1929Murcison artquak.

Forst & Bird alrady fougt to sav

tis magnificnt rainforst onc in t1980s t Socity sougt to sav it from travags of logging and av it protctd

as public consrvation land. Now,dcads on, it sms t battl to sav tMokiinui is bing fougt all ovr again.

T proposd dam would flood mortan 330 ctars drowning t forsts,rivr trracs and t rivr gorg itslf

undr a 14-kilomtr-long lak. Tinvitabl qustion as to b askd: watar w doing still damming our wildrnssrivrs?