Maori have an apt traditional name for this South Island river: Kawatiri, which means "deep and swift". Highly appropriate, considering that this watercourse has the greatest flood discharge in New Zealand.
Named after Charles Buller, a man much involved in the colonisation of New Zealand in the 1800s, the Buller River cuts a 169 kilometre track from its source, at Lake Rotoiti, westward to the Tasman Sea at Westport.
Contained within steep-sided, bush-clad gorges, the twisting road that has been carved through this gorge is often the only man-made structure you'll see for some time. And that's not a bad thing. Because the scenery here is drop dead gorgeous and really needs nothing to enhance it.
And even if you think you're totally sated with this country's natural scenery, you'll be enchanted as you pass through the Lower Buller Gorge.
You'll find the gateway to the northern West Coast (Kahurangi National Park) here - and the entrance to Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks (via Coast Road).
Tourist activities include rafting, jet boating, quad biking, horse treks and caving.