The Wairoa River of the Hawke's Bay region in New Zealand runs south for 65 kilometres from the inland east coast region of the North Island, west of Gisborne, before flowing into northern Hawke Bay at the town of Wairoa.
The full Māori name of the river is Te Wairoa Hōpūpū Hōnengenenge Mātangi Rau, which means the long, bubbling, swirling, uneven waters.[1]
The Hangaroa River and the Ruakituri River merge at Te Reinga Falls, near Te Reinga. This is where the Wairoa River begins.
Lake Waikaremoana is formed in the rockfall-dammed headwaters of the Waikaretaheke River. It has a confluence with the Waiau River 14 miles from the coast.[2]
In 1948 a big flood of the Wairoa River submerged the traffic bridge in Wairoa and flooded parts of the town to a depth of 3 feet (0.91m). This flood flow is one of the largest recorded for any river in New Zealand.[2] The river rose to a "record height", the bridge "took a battering", and "telephone lines 4.3 metres above road level were carrying grass and twigs, showing the phenomenal rise of the floodwaters".[3]
In 2010, the Wairoa Township River Walkway project commenced. The Walkway is a pedestrian and cycle path starting at the bridge on the south bank of the Wairoa River. It is planned that it will eventually completely encircle the town.[4]
Wairoa River Valley between Te Reinga and Frasertown
Hawke's Bay is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is governed by Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
Hawke Bay, formerly named Hawke's Bay, is a large bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, surrounded by the Hawke's Bay region. It stretches from Māhia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui in the southwest, a distance of some 90 kilometres (56 mi).
Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Māhia Peninsula. It is on State Highway 2, 118 kilometres (73 mi) northeast of Napier, and 92 kilometres (57 mi) southwest of Gisborne. Wairoa is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park that is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is the largest town in the district of Wairoa, and is one of three towns in New Zealand, the others being Kawerau and Opotiki, where Māori outnumber other ethnicities, with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori.
Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park.
Hawke's Bay's Waiau River is one of at least four rivers of this name in New Zealand. It rises in the Kaingaroa Forest to the west of Lake Waikaremoana, and flows southeast for 60 kilometres before joining the Wairoa River.
The Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk is a 44-kilometre (27 mi) tramping track which follows the southern and western coast of Lake Waikaremoana in the North Island of New Zealand. Passing through several types of forest, and grassland, the track often provides views over the lake. It is classified as one of New Zealand's Great Walks, and is located in the former Te Urewera National Park.
Tiniroto is a small farming and forestry community on the “inland” road from Gisborne to Wairoa in the eastern part of the North Island of New Zealand.
Mohaka is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay region of the eastern North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the coast of Hawke Bay, 20 kilometres southwest of Wairoa.
Frasertown is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island.
Waikokopu is a small coastal settlement in the north of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay Region, where the Waikokopu stream forms a small tidal estuary between two prominent headlands. The name Waikokopu translates from Māori as "waters" (wai) of the "kokopu", the kokopu being any one of three species of small native fresh-water fish. Waikokopu is about 40 km east of Wairoa, the largest town in northern Hawke's Bay.
Waiapu was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Gisborne – East Coast Region of New Zealand, from 1893 to 1908.
State Highway 38 is a road in the North Island of New Zealand that starts from SH 5 near Waiotapu, and ends at Wairoa, where it connects to SH 2. It is the shortest connection from the central North Island (Rotorua) to the East Coast (Gisborne), but it is not often used as such. Large parts of the road are narrow and winding, and about 74 kilometres (46 mi) of the road is unsealed. Travel on this highway takes roughly four hours.
The Hangaroa River is a river in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand. Its source is the Huiarau Ranges in the Te Urewera National Park, and flows southeast to merge with the Ruakituri River near Te Reinga. The combined rivers form the Wairoa River, which flows south into Hawke Bay.
The Mangaaruhe River is a river of the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows southeast from the Ngamoko Range southwest of Lake Waikaremoana, flowing into the Wairoa River eight kilometres north of Frasertown.
The Ruakituri River is a river of the Gisborne and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It initially flows northeast from its sources north of Lake Waikareiti. Within its course are the 72 m high Waitangi Falls. Afterwards it turns southeast for the majority of its course, reaching the settlement of Te Reinga, 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Wairoa. It merges with the Hangaroa River resulting in the Wairoa River.
The Waikaretāheke River is a river of the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It serves as the outflow of Lake Waikaremoana, flowing southeast from the lake's southeastern shore to reach the Waiau River 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Wairoa. State Highway 38 follows the river's course for much of its length.
Wairoa District is a Territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. The Wairoa District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Wairoa. The district falls within the Hawke's Bay Region.
Ruakituri is a rural area in the northern Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's eastern North Island, located north of Wairoa and west of Gisborne. The 2013 New Zealand census recorded 708 people living in the Ruakituri-Morere area.
The Tutaekuri River, in the Wairoa District of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, rises below Gaddum Road, in the Tutaekuri Conservation Area and flows about 24 km (15 mi) east before joining the Waiau River near Raumotu Bridge, about 3 km (1.9 mi) from its confluence with the Wairoa River at Frasertown.
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