Waikato River

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.

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.

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)

The Awhitu Wind Farm is a renewable energy project in New Zealand initially planned by Tilt Renewables. The development is proposed to be located on the Awhitu Peninsula near Waiuku on the west coast south of Auckland. As of 2016 the project was being privately pursued.

Puni is a rural locality in the Franklin ward of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. It is predominantly a dairy farming and market gardening area. The main type of crops grown are potatoes, carrots, and onions. Puni is located between the larger towns of Pukekohe and Waiuku.

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.

Onewhero is a village and rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Pukekohe and Tuakau are located north of Onewhero, across the Waikato River; The name Onewhero translates from Maori as "Red Earth", which describes the soil colour typical in the Franklin region.The Onewhero village consists of an Anglican church, school, fire station, garage, lawn bowls club and tennis club. The Onewhero Society of Performing Arts runs a local performing arts theatre, and the local rugby club hosts community events and community board meetings. The Onewhero Golf Club is located in nearby Pukekawa. The local Te Awamaarahi marae is a meeting ground for the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Āmaru, Ngāti Pou and Ngāti Tiipa. It includes the wharenui (meeting house) of Whare Wōnanga.North of Onewhero, Harker Reserve has 12 m (39 ft) (or 20m) high Te Wai Heke O Maoa, or Vivian Falls, and a 3 km (1.9 mi) bush walkway. It is near the end of Miller Rd. The waterfall goes over the edge of South Auckland volcanic field's Onewhero maar crater, falling onto Miocene aged Carter Siltstone.

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.

Patumāhoe is a small town of Auckland, New Zealand. It is in the Franklin Ward of Auckland Council. The name comes from the Māori patu māhoe, meaning "to strike or kill with a patu (club) made of wood from the māhoe plant".

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.