Panorama taken from a logging track in the hills beside the Clutha Valley. This picture shows a good view down part of the Clutha River as it flows through the hills in the area, a blue ribbon in a green landscape under a cloudless sky.

Clutha River - South Otago visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Clutha River' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Otago.

The Clutha River is the second longest river in New Zealand. It flows 340km through Central and South Otago. The waterways of the Clutha start at the southern end of Lake Wanaka and the river mouth feeds into the Pacific Ocean on the large flood plain between Summer Hill and Port Molynuex, about 90km south of Dunedin. Lake Wanaka itself is fed by the Makarora River at the northern end near Makarora. Thus this water system starts high in the Southern Alps near the Haast Pass.

Three of the great natural lakes in the Queenstown-Lakes District feed eventually into the Clutha River. First is Lake Wanaka, at the southern end near Wanaka. The Clutha river is then joined by it's first tributary, Kawarau River, which drains from the Frankton Arm of Lake Wakatipu near to Queenstown. Shortly after this it is joined by Hawea River which drains Lake Hawea. Thereafter, the Clutha River then winds east past Cromwell and through the Cromwell Gorge.

There are two dams on the Clutha River. The Clyde Dam is the first, between Cromwell and Alexandra, which created Lake Dunstan. the second is the Roxburgh Dam which has created Lake Roxburgh. Both these lakes now play an important part in the tourism industry providing excellent fishing and water sports.

A little south of Beaumont, there is a unique Pontoon Ferry at Tuapeka Mouth across the Clutha River, the only one of it's kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The Clutha River played an important part in the gold rush during the 1860's and several large deposits were found along it. A memorial to this is the Goldfields Memorial on Cromwell Gorge. Several of the towns, like Lawrence have museums to this era.

Road: This viewpoint is near to the Tuapeka Mouth Ferry Crossing, about 35Km north of Balcutha and 40km south of Beaumont.