Awhitu Wind Farm

Karioitahi Beach is a black sand beach located in the southwest of the Auckland region, on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. The nearest major town is Waiuku, about 8 km inland. It is a rugged and windswept environment, often used for beach activities such as surfing, fishing, horse riding, off-road motorcycling and, most notably, paragliding. This provides lifeguards with a large variety of potential hazards to mitigate and situations to deal with as detailed as the location for 3 Rescue of the Month awards from Surf Life Saving New Zealand in two seasons (2009/2010 & 2010/2011)

Parkinsons Lake is a eutrophic, 1.92 ha, sand dune lake in the Waikato District of New Zealand, near the southern part of Karioitahi Beach. It used to be choked by dense growths of native and introduced aquatic plants.

Otaua is a rural settlement in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located south of Waiuku and west of Aka Aka, on the northern side of the Waikato River. The Otaua area includes the Waikato North Head on the northern side of the Waikato River mouth, opposite Port Waikato to the south.The Waikato North Head ironsand mine, just south of the settlement, produces up to 1.2 million tonnes of ironsand a year, for use in the New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook. The deposit is estimated to contain more than 150 million tonnes in total. The ironsand is processed on-site with a series of separation processes with river water, before the slurry is pumped to the Glenbrook mill through an 18-kilometre underground pipe.The name Otaua is a contraction of Te Takanga-o-Tauaiwi, a reference to the falling of Tauaiwi, a descendant of Hotonui of the Tainui waka. Tauiwi was killed at Otaua by Tāmaki Māori and his body fell into a disused pit.

The Awaroa River is a short river in the Waikato District of New Zealand's North Island. It flows east from its source in the dunes near Karioitahi Beach and Lake Puketi, then south from Waiuku joining with the Aka Aka Stream before reaching the Waikato River in its tidal reaches close to Motutieke Island.Despite being only 12 km (7.5 mi) long, its name translates to 'long river'. It is a name used by 33 other locations, including two in Northland (Awaroa River, the same length, and the other, rather longer, flowing into the Wairoa River), 9 of them in Waikato Region (two other Waikato tributaries not far south of this river, which the Regional Council distinguishes from the others with the appendage 'Waiuku', one flowing into Lake Whangape, the other into Lake Waahi, another stream flowing into the Piako River, Awaroa River flowing into Kawhia Harbour, two Awaroa Streams in Coromandel, one flowing into Kennedy Bay, the other a tributary of the Opitonui River) and a river north of Kaiteriteri.The river is the Waikato's 11th most polluted out of 26.In the 1850s the Awaroa was an important link in the trade between Waikato and Auckland. It was navigated by waka and produce and/or canoes portaged to Manukau Harbour, along Te Pai o Kaiwaka portage, near Waiuku . A canal or tramway was considered as early as 1850 for bringing coal from Huntly and again in 1855. A 1921 report also considered a canal or railway, but also rejected them as too expensive for the likely traffic.

The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for 425 kilometres (264 mi) through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It then drains Taupō at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the Huka Falls, and flows northwest through the Waikato Plains. It empties into the Tasman Sea south of Auckland, at Port Waikato. It gives its name to the Waikato region that surrounds the Waikato Plains. The present course of the river was largely formed about 17,000 years ago. Contributing factors were climate warming, forest being reestablished in the river headwaters and the deepening, rather than widening, of the existing river channel. The channel was gradually eroded as far up river as Piarere, leaving the old Hinuera channel through the Hinuera Gap high and dry. The remains of the old course are seen clearly at Hinuera, where the cliffs mark the ancient river edges. The Waikato's main tributary is the Waipā River, which converges with it at Ngāruawāhia. The name Waikato comes from the Māori language and translates as flowing water. The Waikato River has spiritual meaning for various local Māori tribes, including the large Tainui, who regard it as a source of their mana, or pride. The widely respected marae of Tūrangawaewae is close to its banks at Ngāruawāhia. For many years the Tainui tribe have sought to re-establish their links to the river after the New Zealand Wars (see Invasion of the Waikato) and the subsequent confiscations of the 1860s, and are continuing negotiations with the New Zealand government. The Tainui iwi was advised not to bring a case for the river before the Waitangi Tribunal as they would not win. An out-of-court settlement was arranged and the deed of settlement signed by the Crown and Waikato-Tainui in August 2008 settled the raupatu claim to the Waikato River, although other claims for land blocks and harbours are still outstanding. Waikato-Tainui now have joint management of the river with Waikato Regional Council.

Glenbrook Beach is a rural community at the northern end of a peninsula formed between the Waiuku River and Taihiki River in Auckland, New Zealand. Waiuku is 14 km south by road.The area is also known as Kawahai, after a species of fish which has been a substantial food source for the local Ngāti Te Ata iwi.Glenbrook Beach was first subdivided in the mid 1920s. Electric power supply was connected at the end of the decade.

The Taihiki River is a river of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally northeast from its sources north of Patumahoe to reach the Waiuku River shortly before the latter's outflow into the Manukau Harbour. As with the Waiuku River, much of the Taihiki's length is as a wide silty estuary.

The Waiuku River, also known as the Waiuku Estuary, is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, near the town of Waiuku, south-west of Auckland. It joins the harbour at the south west and extends south for 12 kilometres (7 mi), having its head close to the town of Waiuku.

Clarks Beach is a small town of Auckland, New Zealand. It is in the former Franklin District local government area. Primarily a beachside rural town, situated within the Manukau Harbour, at the mouth of the Waiuku River, it fronts the harbour and is north facing. It is known as one of the few beaches where scallops can be collected by hand at low tide. About 50 ha immediately to the east of the existing town was rezoned to allow mixed housing in 2016. The Clarks Beach Waterfront Estate development started subsequently in 2019. Seagrove aerodrome operated near Clarks Beach during World War II.

Port Waikato is a New Zealand town that sits on the south bank of the Waikato River, at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in the northern Waikato.Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks and surf beach, and off the sand dunes that border the river mouth. Flounder and mullet are also plentiful using drag nets. Port Waikato is a location where sedimentary rock formations of 65–85 million years' antiquity are found, and a Jurassic-period dinosaur fossil was found there. Weathertop footage from the Lord of the Rings was filmed in limestone outcrops just south of the town. The Port has a Wharf Store, established 1893, a take-away shop, café, campground, library, community hall, fire station, surf lifesaving club, yachting club and an active fishing club. A school camp was established near the town in the 1920s, which boasts a well-formed BMX track. Port Waikato also serves as a popular wedding destination.

Waiau Pa is a small town of Auckland, New Zealand. It is in the Franklin Ward of Auckland Council. The name means "River of swirling currents" in the Māori language.The Waiau Pa Presbyterian Church on the corner of McKenzie Road and Seagrove Road was built in 1914.The Taihiki River runs south and southwest of Waiau Pa, and the Manukau Harbour is to the north.

Matakawau Point is a rural settlement on the east side of the Āwhitu Peninsula and west side of the Manukau Harbour in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. The mouth of Matakawau Creek is south of Matakawau Point.