New Zealand is an island country located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, near the centre of the water hemisphere. It consists of a large number of islands, estimated around 700, mainly remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. The land masses by size are the South Island and the North Island, separated by the Cook Strait. The third-largest is Stewart Island / Rakiura, located 30 kilometres off the tip of the South Island across Foveaux Strait. Other islands are significantly smaller in area. The three largest islands stretch 1,600 kilometres across latitudes 35° to 47° south. New Zealand is the sixth-largest island country in the world, with a land size of 268,710 km2 (103,750 sq mi).
The Wairarapa, a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest. It is named after its largest lake, Lake Wairarapa.
The South Wairarapa District is an area at the south-east tip of the North Island of New Zealand governed by the South Wairarapa District Council. The district comprises the southernmost part of the Wairarapa, and is part of the Wellington Region.
Wellington Harbour is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, is located on parts of its western and southern sides. Lower Hutt is located on parts of its northern and eastern sides.
Martinborough is a town in the South Wairarapa District, in the Wellington region of New Zealand. It is 65 kilometres east of Wellington and 35 kilometres south-west of Masterton. The town has a resident population of 1,960.
Tasman Bay, originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches along 120 kilometres (75 mi) of coastline and is 70 kilometres (43 mi) across at its widest point. It is an arm of the Tasman Sea, lying on the western approach to Cook Strait.
The Firth of Thames is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its southeastern coast.
Mercury Bay is a large V-shaped bay on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. It was named by the English navigator Captain James Cook during his exploratory expeditions. It was first named Te-Whanganui-a-Hei, the great bay of Hei, by the Māori.
The Remutaka Range is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east coast between Wellington and East Cape.
Cape Palliser is a promontory on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island and is the southernmost point of the North Island; it is in fact considerably farther south than Nelson or Blenheim in the South Island.
Lake Wairarapa is a lake at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Wellington. The lake covers an area of 78 km2 (30 sq mi), and at its deepest is 2.5 m (8.2 ft). It is the third largest in the North Island, fractionally smaller than Lake Rotorua. The nearest town to the lake is Featherston, which is located five kilometres from its northern shore.
The Ruamahanga River runs through the southeastern North Island of New Zealand.
Tākitimu was a waka (canoe) with whakapapa throughout the Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori traditions, the Tākitimu was one of the great Māori migration ships that brought Polynesian migrants to New Zealand from Hawaiki. The canoe was said to be captained by Tamatea.
Ngawi is a small fishing / holiday town within five kilometres of Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of New Zealand's North Island. The town comprises mainly small wooden houses, called baches.
The Putangirua Pinnacles are a geological formation and one of New Zealand's best examples of badlands erosion. They consist of a large number of earth pillars or hoodoos located at the head of a valley in the Aorangi Ranges, on the North Island of New Zealand, in the Wellington region.
The Aorangi Range is a mountain range on the North Island of New Zealand. It is located in the Wairarapa region, extending more than 20 kilometres north from Cape Palliser, and is the southernmost mountain range on the island. The greater portion of these mountains are covered in native forest which is protected and set aside for public recreational use as part of the Aorangi Forest Park.
Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi), it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound / Patea, and the neighbouring Taiari / Chalky Inlet to the north. Rakituma was briefly the site of an attempted fishing and gold mining settlement at Cromarty during the 19th century, however this was quickly abandoned once the level of gold declined in relation to more promising fields elsewhere.
The Opouawe River is a river of the Wairarapa, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. One of the North Island's southernmost rivers, it flows generally south to reach Cook Strait close to Te Kaukau Point, 12 kilometres (7 mi) northeast of Cape Palliser
The Ruakokoputuna River is a river of the Wairarapa, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows northeast from its sources within Haurangi Forest Park to the east of Palliser Bay, reaching the Huangarua River 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Martinborough. The river's upper section flow through the Patuna Chasm, a narrow slot canyon.
Lake Ferry is a small coastal settlement in Palliser Bay, on the southern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is in the South Wairarapa District, located 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-west of Martinborough, on the eastern shore of Lake Ōnoke. The coast is a popular fishing location and the settlement is a mixture of permanent and holiday homes. There is a historic hotel close to the sea coast where Lake Ōnoke flows into Palliser Bay. The name of the settlement and the hotel arises from a ferry service that previously operated across the lake outlet.
