The Dobson River is a river in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It flows south between the Neumann and Ohau ranges for 45 kilometres from its source to the east of Mount Hopkins

Mount Hopkins, New Zealand

Mount Hopkins is located in the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island. It lies 25 kilometres to the southwest of Aoraki/Mount Cook, and rises to 2682 metres. Several rivers have their sources on or close to the slopes of Mount Hopkins, notably the Landsborough River to the west, the Dobson...

, in the Southern Alps

Southern Alps

The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...

, before joining with the Hopkins River

Hopkins River, New Zealand

The Hopkins River is located in the central South Island of New Zealand. It flows south for 40 kilometres from the Southern Alps into the northern end of Lake Ohau in the Mackenzie Country....

, close to the latter's entry into the northern end of Lake Ohau in the Mackenzie Country. The river flows over wide shingle beds, and has no rapids of interest to whitewater

Whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...

 enthusiasts. It was named by Julius von Haast

Julius von Haast

Sir Johann Franz "Julius" von Haast was a German geologist. He founded Canterbury Museum at Christchurch.-Biography:...

 in the 1860s for his father-in-law, Edward Dobson, who was the Canterbury Provincial Engineer.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation

New Zealand Department of Conservation

The Department of Conservation , commonly known by its acronym, "DOC", is the state sector organisation which deals with the conservation of New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage...

 maintains a tramping track

Tramping in New Zealand

Tramping, known elsewhere as hiking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand.Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country carrying all the required food and equipment...

 and several backcountry hut

Backcountry hut

Backcountry huts are huts that serve overnight hiking and trekking needs and can be found in many places in the world.-New Zealand:New Zealand has a network of approximately 950 backcountry huts...

s in the river valley. Two of the huts are accessible by 4WD vehicle.

There is no direct geographical link with the West Coast

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 town of Dobson

Dobson, New Zealand

Dobson is a small town on the banks of the Grey River in the South Island of New Zealand. It is 10 kilometres east from the river's mouth at Greymouth. The settlement of Taylorville is across the river from Dobson, but no bridge directly connects the two...

.