Travel Guide Balclutha

The town of 4,000 inhabitants lies on the banks of the Clutha River, New Zealand's second longest river (340 km). Balclutha means "the town on the Clyde" in Gaelic, a reference to Glasgow in Scotland. Its proximity to the Catlins is its main attraction. It marks the beginning/end of the Southern Scenic Route. Not very touristy, it is nonetheless the last town in which to do your shopping.The source of the Clutha River lies in the Haast Pass, the pass that has provided access to the West Coast since the 1960s. It is not only the longest river on the South Island, but also the river with the highest flow in the country: an average of 614 m³ per second! During the storm of 1978, the river reached a record flow of 4,581 m³ per second. In Maori, it's known as Mata-au, which means "current in the water". An understatement! If you want to swim in it, be very careful. If you're heading up towards Queenstown from the east coast of Otago, you can pass through Clyde, home to the country's third-largest hydroelectric dam, built in the early 1980s. New Zealand is one of the industrialized countries with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions: 84% of its energy comes from renewable sources like this dam.