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.
Palmerston North is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manawatu River, 35 km (22 mi) from the river's mouth, and 12 km (7 mi) from the end of the Manawatū Gorge, about 140 km (87 mi) north of the capital, Wellington. Palmerston North is the country's eighth-largest urban area, with an urban population of 83,100. The estimated population of Palmerston North city is 92,500.
Manawatū-Whanganui is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council, which operates under the name Horizons Regional Council.
Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was created in 1956. The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and valleys created by glaciers during the ice ages.
The Tararua District is a district near the south-east corner of New Zealand's North Island that is administered by the Tararua District Council. It has a population of 19,250, and an area of 4,364.62 km². The Tararua District Council was created by the amalgamation of the Dannevirke Borough, Eketahuna County Council, Pahiatua Borough Council, Pahiatua County Council and Woodville District Council in the 1989 local government reforms.
The Manawatū Gorge is a steep-sided gorge formed by the Manawatū River in the North Island of New Zealand. At 6 km (3.7 mi) long, the Manawatū Gorge divides the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges, linking the Manawatū and Tararua Districts. It lies to the northeast of Palmerston North. Its western end is near the small town of Ashhurst and its eastern end is close to the town of Woodville.
The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand.
The Kaweka Range of mountains is located in inland Hawke's Bay in the eastern North Island of New Zealand. It forms part of the mountainous spine of the North Island which extends from Wellington to East Cape, including the Tararua and Ruahine ranges.
Woodville, previously known as The Junction, is a small town in the southern North Island of New Zealand, 75 km north of Masterton and 25 km east of Palmerston North. The 2013 census showed that 1401 people reside in Woodville.
The Manawatū River is a major river of the lower North Island of New Zealand. The river flows from the Ruahine Ranges, through both the Manawatū Gorge and the city of Palmerston North, and across the Manawatū Plains to the Tasman Sea at Foxton.
Mount Hikurangi is a 1,752 m (5,748 ft) peak in the eastern corner of New Zealand's North Island, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Gisborne, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of the East Cape Lighthouse. On a spur of the Raukumara Range in the Waiapu Valley, it is the North Island's highest non-volcanic peak.
The Waipawa River is a braided river of southern Hawke's Bay, in New Zealand's eastern North Island. It flows southeast from the slopes of 1,687 m (5,535 ft) Te Atuaoparapara in the Ruahine Range, past the town of Waipawa, before joining the Tukituki River. The river rises at the 1,326 m (4,350 ft) Waipawa Saddle, which is also the source of the Waikamaka River. The Mangaonuku Stream is a tributary on the northern bank, west of Waipawa, near Ruataniwha. The Waipawa's flow is generally greater than that of the Tukituki River, into which it flows.
Rangitāne is a Māori iwi (tribe). Their rohe (territory) is in the Manawatū, Horowhenua, Wairarapa and Marlborough areas of New Zealand.
Te Rehunga is a rural locality located in the Tararua District, part of the Manawatū-Whanganui Region of New Zealand.
The Wellington Region of New Zealand has a foundation of Torlesse Greywacke rocks, that make up the Tararua and Rimutaka Ranges, that go from Wellington in the south to the Manawatū Gorge, where they are renamed as the Ruahine Ranges, and continue further north-northeast, towards East Cape. To the west of the Tararua Ranges are the Manawatū coastal plains. To the east of the Ruahine Ranges is the Wairarapa-Masterton Basin, then the Eastern Uplands that border the eastern coast of the North Island from Cape Palliser to Napier.
Wharite Peak is a mountain at the southern end of the Ruahine Range, 9 km (5.6 mi) north of Woodville in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The mountain is home to the main television and FM radio transmitter for the city of Palmerston North and the wider Manawatu region.
The Northern Crossing is a tramping track in New Zealand's Tararua Range. The track is approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and typically takes between three and five days to complete. The crossing is suitable only for experienced trampers.
Hutt Water Collection Area is a reserve located in Upper Hutt in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. It is administered by Wellington Regional Council and is located alongside the larger Kaitoke Regional Park.
Barbara Jean Mitcalfe née Fougère was a New Zealand conservationist, botanist and educator. She is best known for being an expert field botanist, for her conservation work in and around the Wellington region, and for helping to establish the first Māori preschool.
