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"Waitaki" literally means 'the waterway of tears, symbolising the tears of Aoraki Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand, It flows a 110km journey before entering the Pacific Ocean. You can see it's end HERE
It is a braided river with a wide gravel bed, and was formed as glaciers retreated 10,000 years ago. Only Canada, Alaska and the Himalayas have similar river systems.
Its flow will increase in the Spring as the snow melts. Water from the Waitaki River system has been used to generate electricity since the 1930s. A series of hydro dams generate from the rivers and canals and storage from the created lakes of Benmore, Aviemore and Waitaki. It is close to its destination here with just a few more km to go before reaching the sea.
This is a song made during the time the hydro dams were being built. Anyone living in NZ at the time would have known it :) The Plainsmen ~ The Ballad of the Waitaki