Over de plaats » Riverton, Southland District, Southland, Nieuw Zeeland

Riverton or Aparima is a small town at the south of the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the Southland region and lies at the western end of Oreti Beach, 30 kilometres west of Invercargill on the Southern Scenic Route. It is approx. 45 km from Stewart Island and provides a safe harbour on the Foveaux Strait. Riverton is one of New Zealand's oldest towns. 2011 saw their 175th celebrations. The Pourakino River and Aparima River join to form the estuary before emptying into Taramea Bay Foveaux Strait at Riverton. Riverton's population is currently about 1900 people, and its main industry is fishing. However farming (esp. dairying) is fast becoming the industry of influence as the fishing slowly dries up. Support services such as transport, irrigation, engineering and various farm related contractors now play an important part in the local economy. The fish factory based on its main wharf has now been converted to a butchery. The harbour is still quite busy however as along with Bluff, it is a safe harbour for access to NZ's south / west seas. It is also popular for water skiing, rowing, fishing and catching the occasional flounder. Taramea Bay is a popular spot in the summer for Southland residents to swim as it provides safe swimming and excellent surf spots. Riverton is well known for Dolphin spotting as they like to travel up into the estuary for feeding. Sawmilling has been important to Riverton and Pankhurst's Mill still supplies timber locally and to the aluminium smelter at Bluff. Rises in New Zealand Real estate of recent times has seen prices rise over 300 - 500 percent. In 2005 there was one main estate agent but as of 2008 the town has up to 6 at any one time. This is mainly due to the recent economic boom in NZ and the fact that Riverton has one of a few safe swimming beaches making it a popular destination for Southlanders. Accommodation in Riverton is limited, however there are a few motel rooms, a backpackers, camping ground and plenty of holiday homes that are available online, as well as basic hotel accommodation. It has a high school called Aparima College (years 7-13), and a primary school called Riverton Primary. Te Hikoi Southern Journey is the town's recently newly built museum in conjunction with the refurbished Earlt Settlers Museum. It features the local information centre along with an interesting collection of regional historic artifacts and information. Concentrating on local Maori history, whaling and local European settlements.