Sabine River (Gowan River)
| Sabine River | ||
 View up the valley of the Sabine River |
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| Data | ||
| location | Nelson Lakes National Park , Tasman , South Island , New Zealand | |
| River system | Buller River | |
| Drain over | Gowan River → Buller River → Tasman Sea | |
| source | East Branch, Mt. McKay 42 ° 5 '16 " S , 172 ° 43' 17" E |
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| Source height | 1820 m | |
| muzzle |
Lake Rotoroa Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 22 " S , 172 ° 40 ′ 28" E 41 ° 54 ′ 22 " S , 172 ° 40 ′ 28" E |
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| Mouth height | 450 m | |
| Height difference | 1370 m
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| Flowing lakes | Lake Constance , Blue Lake | |
The Sabine River is a river in Nelson Lakes National Park on New Zealand's South Island .
The river has two branches, the East Branch Sabine and West Branch Sabine River. The West Sabine drains Lake Constance and Blue Lake . Between these two lakes, the water seeps underground through rock rubble. The East Sabine rises east of it in a small lake on the 2309 m high Mt. McKay. Both rivers are separated by the 2339 m high Mt. Franklin and the Franklin Ridge, join north of it at Sabine Forks and flow into Lake Rotoroa . In addition to the upper course, which is surrounded by tussock and scrubland, the river runs through largely natural southern beech forest . The West Branch is separated from the D'Urville River by the Mahanga Range , and the East Branch borders the Travers Range to the east.
The river is not navigable for most of its length due to rocky rapids.
A hiking trail, the western branch of the Travers-Sabine-Rundweg , runs along the river. This route begins in Saint Arnaud at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti and follows the Travers River up to the subalpine, 1787 m high Travers Saddle . From there he descends the valley of the East Sabine and later the Sabine River to Lake Rotoroa. Another path leads up the West Sabine to Blue Lake and continues over the Waiau Pass to the connection with the St James Walkway and Lewis Pass .
In the valley of the river there are three hikers' huts: the Sabine Hut on Lake Rotoroa (near the mouth of the Sabine River), the West Sabine Hut (near Sabine Forks) and the Blue Lake Hut on the lake of the same name.