Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately 1,200 square kilometres (450 sq mi) and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest city, Christchurch, is immediately north of the peninsula.
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island. Its takiwā is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti, Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point in the north to Stewart Island / Rakiura in the south. The takiwā comprises 18 rūnanga corresponding to traditional settlements. According to the 2018 census an estimated 74,082 people affiliated with the Kāi Tahu iwi.
Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora is a broad, shallow coastal lake or waituna, in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is directly to the west of Banks Peninsula, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the long, narrow, sandy Kaitorete Spit, or more correctly Kaitorete Barrier. It lies partially in extreme southeastern Selwyn District and partially in the southwestern extension of the former Banks Peninsula District, which now is a ward in the city of Christchurch. The lake holds high historical and cultural significance to the indigenous Māori population and the traditional Māori name Te Waihora, means spreading waters. It has officially had a dual English/Māori name since at least 1938.
Selwyn District is a predominantly rural district in central Canterbury, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after the Selwyn River / Waikirikiri, which is in turn named after Bishop George Selwyn, the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand who, in 1843 and 1844, travelled the length of the country by horse, foot, boat and canoe, leaving in his wake a sprinkling of locations that now bear his name.
Papamoa or Papamoa Beach is a suburb of Tauranga, located about 11 kilometres from the city centre. It is the largest residential suburb in Tauranga. It is bordered to the west by Arataki and Mount Maunganui, the east by the Kaituna River and to the south by State Highway 2.
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Birdlings Flat
Mount Maunganui, or Mauao, known to locals as The Mount, is a 232 metre volcanic dome at the end of a peninsula in the Tauranga suburb of Mount Maunganui in New Zealand, beside the eastern entrance to the city's harbour.
Akaroa was a New Zealand electorate. It was located in Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, and named after the town of the same name. One of the original 24 electorates, it existed from 1853 to 1893.
Kaitorete Spit is a long finger of land which extends along the coast of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs west from Banks Peninsula for 25 kilometres, and separates the shallow Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora from the Pacific Ocean. It is technically a continuous barrier beach, though at its western end it tapers to a point less than 100 metres in width which is occasionally breached at high tide. The spit is noted for its isolation and for its pebbly beaches. At its eastern end is the small settlement of Birdlings Flat, and west of its narrowest point is the settlement of Taumutu.
State Highway 2 runs north–south through eastern parts of the North Island of New Zealand from the outskirts of Auckland to Wellington. It runs through Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Hastings and Masterton. It is the second-longest highway in the North Island, after State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands.
Okere Falls is a small town located 21 km from Rotorua on SH 33 between Rotorua and Tauranga on the North Island of New Zealand. The town is situated on the shore of the Okere Inlet of Lake Rotoiti, from which the Kaituna River flows north towards the Bay of Plenty.
Lake Forsyth is a lake on the south-western side of Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, near the eastern end of the much larger Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora. State Highway 75 to Akaroa and the Little River Rail Trail run along the north-western side of the lake.
The Waipaoa River is a river of the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Raukumara Range, flowing south for 80 kilometres (50 mi) to reach Poverty Bay and the Pacific Ocean just south of Gisborne. For about half of this distance its valley is followed by State Highway 2. The river has several important tributaries, among them the Wharekōpae, Waikohu, Mangatu, Te Arai, Waingaromia and Waihora rivers. Major settlements along the banks of the river include Te Karaka, Ormond, and Patutahi.
Canterbury in New Zealand is the portion of the South Island to the east of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, from the Waiau Uwha River in the north, to the Waitaki River in the south.
State Highway 75 (SH 75) is a state highway in New Zealand servicing the Banks Peninsula region, connecting Christchurch on the northwestern part of the peninsula with Akaroa towards the east coast. It is wholly two lane, but partially functions as a major arterial corridor of Christchurch. Its highest point is at Hilltop, where it rises to about 555 m - just 8 m lower than the more mountainous Haast Pass in the Southern Alps.
Rākaihautū was the captain of the Uruaokapuarangi canoe and a Polynesian ancestor of various iwi, most famously of Waitaha and other southern groups, though he is also known in the traditions of Taitokerau, and in those of Rarotonga.
Motukarara is a locality to the northeast of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora in the Selwyn District of New Zealand. State Highway 75 passes through the centre of the village, connecting Christchurch with Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula. The Little River Branch, which operated between 1886 and 1962, ran through Motukarara, and is now a shared walkway and cycleway.
Scenic reserves are a type of New Zealand protected area. They are the most common, and probably most widespread, form of protected area in the country. The reserve vary size: while most are less than 100 hectares, some are more than 1,000 hectares. Some are "islands of unspoilt nature in a sea of farmland".
A waituna is a freshwater coastal lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed where a braided river meets a coastline affected by longshore drift. This type of waterbody is neither a true lake, lagoon nor estuary.
Okains Bay Museum is a museum in Banks Peninsula, New Zealand.
