| Parapara River | |
| Pushpin Map: | New Zealand#New Zealand South Island |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 270px |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth of the Parapara River |
| Source1 Location: | Parapara Peak |
| Source1 Coordinates: | -40.8363°N 172.6471°W |
| Mouth Location: | Parapara Inlet |
| Mouth Coordinates: | -40.7282°N 172.6801°W |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | New Zealand |
| Length: | 20km (10miles) |
| Progression: | Parapara River → Parapara Inlet → Golden Bay / Mohua → Tasman Sea |
| Tributaries Left: | Blue Creek, Greenwood Creek, Glen Gyle Creek, Raby Riley Gully |
| Tributaries Right: | Grueby Creek, Happy Valley Stream, Dam Creek, Washbourn Creek |
The Parapara River is a river of the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows generally north from its watershed in the Kahurangi National Park, reaching Golden Bay at the small settlement of Parapara, 5 kilometres south of Collingwood.
In Māori tradition, the river is inhabited by a taniwha called Kaiwhakaruaki, who used to attack the people of Motueka and Tākaka. This tradition derives from Society Islands in Polynesia, where a monstrous shark called 'Aifa'arua'i (a cognate of Kaiwhakaruaki) is said to have lived in the Parapara Strait between Motue'a and Taha'a islands (cognates of Motueka and Tahaka).[1]