Waiau Uwha
just nowWaiau Uwha River at Mouth
76.6m³/s
Steady 5 h
7-day peak 355
Water 13.0°
Good Clearing Clearing: 2.4 d since the last peak
Good now, and holding · base flow 35.7 m³/s stays above 35
Nothing rising upstream, no heavy rain in the catchment.
Along the river
alps to seaWaiau Uwha Maling
9.74m³/s
Waiau Uwha Marble Pt
107m³/s
about 7 h from the site above
Waiau Uwha Mouth
76.6m³/s
about 9 h from the site above
Travel times: Waiau Uwha Maling → Waiau Uwha Marble Pt 7 h (seeded from the Oct 2026 flood); Waiau Uwha Marble Pt → Waiau Uwha Mouth 9 h (seeded from the Oct 2026 flood).
Flow
m³/s, New Zealand time- Waiau Uwha Maling
- Waiau Uwha Marble Pt
- Waiau Uwha Mouth
JBNZ river guide
uplifting, class, launching and flows by sectionSections
Waiau Uwha RiverSea to Leslie Hills Class 1
Shingle, braided · 68 km · 3.75 m/km
Minimum flow 35 cumecs. Waiau Uwha Mouth now 76.6 m³/s, above the minimum. The sheet does not name the gauge; this is our choice.
Launch SH1 bridge, or Waiau township
Low flows can present issues. All huts along this section are privately owned: seek permission from the owners before using them.
Leslie Hills to Ferry Bridge Class 2
Gorgy, rocks · 16 km · 3.9 m/km
Launch Waiau township, Mason River junction
Notify the commercial operator
Ferry Bridge to the Hope Class 2
Boulders, braided · 19 km · 6.3 m/km
Launch As above
Hope confluence to the Narrows Class 3
Rocky, rapids, gorgy · 19 km · 8.9 m/km
Launch Waiau riverbed above the Hanmer Ferry bridge
The Narrows have been boated. Very isolated section.
Narrows (Stanley River confluence) to the Ada No uplifting
From the Jet Boating New Zealand Canterbury river information sheet of July 2024, transcribed by hand on 17 October 2026. Uplifting is whether the 5-knot limit is lifted for the section. JBNZ can update the sheet at any time; flo checked it 3.9 h ago. Open the PDF.
Weather
at Waiau Uwha Mouth · Open-Meteo9pm
Clear
6.5°
–
4 SE
12am
Clear
4.6°
–
3 W
3am
Fog
2.5°
–
4 NW
6am
Fog
1.1°
–
5 NW
9am
Fog
7.6°
–
8 N
12pm
Clear
10.7°
–
14 NE
3pm
Clear
11.2°
–
17 NE
6pm
Clear
9.9°
–
14 NE
9pm
Clear
7.3°
–
7 N
12am
Clear
6.3°
–
7 N
3am
Fog
5.0°
–
5 NW
6am
Fog
3.5°
–
7 W
Sat Clear 6.5°/ 5.4° dry
Sun Fog 11.2°/ 1.1° dry
Mon Fog 15.7°/ 3.5° dry
Tue Fog 13.3°/ 6.9° dry
Headwaters
at Waiau Uwha MalingRain next 48 h
0.0mm
Lowest freezing level
2600m
Heavy rain with a high freezing level falls on snow and produces the biggest rises.