Kaituna River (Canterbury)
| Kaituna River | |
|---|---|
Kaituna River near State Highway 75 | |
| Etymology | From Māori: Kai (meaning food) and tuna (meaning eel) |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Canterbury |
| Territorial area | Christchurch City |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki |
| • coordinates | 43°42′06″S 172°45′31″E / 43.701745°S 172.758679°E |
| • elevation | 670 metres (2,200 ft) |
| Mouth | Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora |
• coordinates | 43°46′42″S 172°39′04″E / 43.77836°S 172.651005°E |
• elevation | 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) |
| Length | 18 kilometres (11 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Okana Stream |
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The Kaituna River is a small watercourse on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, which discharges into Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora. Its source is several small streams arising on the southern slope of Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki, and it flows south-west for 15 kilometres, being joined by the Okana Stream, and ending in the remains of Kaituna Lagoon (Māori: Motumotuao). The river gives its name to the steep sheep-grazed Kaituna Valley which provides access to the walking tracks and mountain tops of Mount Bradley and Mt Herbert.
The Māori name Kaituna, or "a place to eat eels", referred the river. The river and its valley were a traditional ara tawhito (travel route) for Māori living on Banks Peninsula, providing a relatively easy route to connect mahinga kai (food gathering sites) at Te Waihora with the more established settlements around Whakaraupō and Koukourarata to the north.