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 region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural parts of the region are served by the towns of Waipukurau, Waipawa, and Wairoa.
Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It 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 118 kilometres (73 mi) northeast of Napier, and 92 kilometres (57 mi) southwest of Gisborne, on State Highway 2. It is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park, which is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is one of three towns in New Zealand where Māori outnumber other ethnicities, with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori.
Lake Waikaremoana is located in Te Urewera in the North Island of New Zealand, 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Wairoa and 80 kilometres (50 mi) west-southwest of Gisborne. It covers an area of 54 square kilometres (21 sq mi). From the Māori Waikaremoana translates as 'sea of rippling waters'.
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.
Frasertown is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island.
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 Mangapōike River is a river beginning in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally southwest from sources south of Waingake, reaching the Wairoa River in Hawke's Bay 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of Frasertown. Mangapōike River was Gazetted as an official name on 28 November 2022.
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 within the Hawke's Bay Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The Wairoa District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Wairoa. The district covers the northern half of the Hawke's Bay coast, extending from Māhia Peninsula to Lake Waikaremoana, and south to the mouth of the Waikare River.
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.
Ngaherehere was a Māori rangatira in the upper Wairoa River valley in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. He probably lived around the eighteenth century.
In late June 2024, torrential rain led to flooding in the North Island's East Coast regions of Hawke's Bay and the Gisborne District. This flooding led to evacuations and local states of emergency being declared in Hastings and Wairoa. 400 properties were flooded in Wairoa. In response, Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced that the New Zealand Government would contribute $300,000 to mayoral relief funds in Hastings, Wairoa and the Gisborne District. According to Mayor of Wairoa Craig Little, Wairoa sustained NZ$40 million worth of flood damage.
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