Mapoutahi

Long Beach, known in Māori as Wharauwerawera or Wharewerawera is a small coastal settlement in Otago, New Zealand comprising approximately 100 homes. Many of the sections were initially auctioned in October 1922 for a pound deposit. It is located within the city limits of Dunedin, and lies 15 kilometres northeast of the city centre, between Blueskin Bay and the mouth of the Otago Harbour. The small settlement of Pūrākaunui is located nearby. Long Beach township is near a sandy beach that stretches 2.4 kilometres between coastal rock formations. Wildlife in the beach and lagoon area includes blue penguins, seals, terns, pūkeko, herons, spoonbills, and ducks. Because the beach lies within a bay and is seldom affected by swells, it is a common swimming location. Rock-climbing cliffs and caves at the beach's western end also attract many visitors. The Mopanui Ecological Society, a Long Beach community group, has been extensively beautifying the area through mass planting of native flora in reserve areas. Some of the earliest traces of human settlement in the South Island are from nearby Kaikai Beach, just to the northwest of Long Beach. The 2006 movie Out of the Blue was primarily filmed at Long Beach.

Pūrākaunui (formerly spelt Purakanui) is a small settlement in Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located within the bounds of the city of Dunedin, in a rural coastal area some 25 km (16 mi) to the north of the city centre. Pūrākaunui lies close to the Pacific Coast to the east of Waitati and north of Port Chalmers, on a peninsula between Long Beach and the Pūrākaunui Inlet. On the opposite shore of the inlet is the community of Osborne. Both settlements lie close to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary and the historic pā site of Mapoutahi (Goat Island). Noted former residents of Pūrākaunui include poet David Howard. Pūrākaunui should not be confused with the locale with the same name in The Catlins, some 100 km further south, which is home to the Purakaunui Falls, in the Pūrākaunui Bay Scenic Reserve on the Pūrākaunui River.

Warrington, known in Māori as Ōkāhau, is a small settlement on the coast of Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated close to the northern shore of Blueskin Bay, an area of mudflats north of Dunedin, and is administered as part of Dunedin City. Warrington is 3 km (1.9 mi) from State Highway 1 linked by Coast Road. The Main South Line railway passes through the township and a tourist train, the Seasider passes through the settlement once or twice a week between Dunedin and Palmerston. Warrington beach, a popular surf beach for locals and visitors from the city, is patrolled by volunteer lifeguards of the Warrington Surf Life Saving Club which established in Dunedin in 1957 and relocated here in 1976. Warrington Beach is occasionally used by naturists for nude sunbathing. New Zealand has no official nude beaches, as public nudity is legal on any beach where it is "known to occur". St Barnabas Church is one of the area's oldest buildings.

St Barnabas' Church is a heritage listed Anglican church, located at 266 Coast Road, Warrington, Otago, New Zealand. The small wooden church was built in 1872.

Blueskin Bay is an estuary in coastal Otago, about 25 km north of Dunedin, New Zealand. The name also unofficially describes the rural district which includes the northern slopes of Mount Cargill, the southern slopes of the Kilmog, and the townships of Doctors Point, Waitati, Evansdale, Warrington, and Seacliff.

The Waitati River is a river in New Zealand, flowing into the Pacific Ocean at Blueskin Bay, north of Dunedin. The Dunedin Northern Motorway follows the valley of the Waitati between the Leith Saddle and Waitati. The river flows through the town of Waitati before discharging into the Orokonui Lagoon, an estuary of Blueskin Bay.

Orokonui Ecosanctuary, called Te Korowai o Mihiwaka in Māori, is an ecological island wildlife reserve developed by the Otago Natural History Trust in the Orokonui Valley between Waitati and Pūrākaunui, New Zealand, 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north of central Dunedin.

Careys Creek, known in Māori as Whaitiripaku and Waihema, is a small river in Otago, New Zealand, which flows from the Silverpeaks into Blueskin Bay at Evansdale. The creek drains the forest plantations and native bush of Silverpeaks Forest and the Careys Creek Conservation Area. It is crossed by State Highway 1 at Evansdale, close to the foot of The Kilmog.

Evansdale is a census-gathering district in rural Dunedin, New Zealand. It encompasses all areas outside of urban areas between Mount Cargill and the northern Dunedin City boundary. It is named after one of the small villages it contains: Evansdale, New Zealand. According to the 2013 New Zealand census, Evansdale has a population of 1,482, an increase of 198 people since the 2006 census.

Evansdale is a locality on State Highway 1, 25 km north of Dunedin, at the north west of Blueskin Bay. It also has lent its name to a cheese producer, and a census-gathering district, which has a population of 1,482 in the 2013 New Zealand census, an increase of 198 people since the 2006 census.

Waitati, from the Māori Waitete, is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre. The small Waitati River flows through the bay to the sea. The Dunedin–Waitati Highway section of State Highway 1, formerly and colloquially called Dunedin Northern Motorway, ends at Waitati; the highway continues north from here at a slightly lower grade of construction with more frequent intersections and accesses. Three km to the north, the highway ascends the notorious Kilmog hill. The Main South Line railway curves from east to north through Waitati. The old station yard remains as a train crossing loop and parts of the old station building are used by rail maintenance workers. Waitati is home to a branch of the Dunedin Public Libraries, Blueskin Nurseries, a local school, a cafe and general store, and several holiday homes.

The Kilmog, occasionally called Kilmog Hill and known in Māori as Kirimoko, is a hilly area approximately 20 kilometres north of Dunedin, New Zealand, on State Highway 1, to the north of Blueskin Bay and south of Karitane. Technically more a series of hills than a single hill, it lies between the south branch of the Waikouaiti River and the Pacific Ocean, and reaches its highest point at the 431 m (1436 ft) Hammond Hill, close to the farming community of Merton. A second peak, Porteous Hill, lies at the southern end of the Kilmog, rising to 395 m (1317 ft). The name is better known as that of a steep stretch of State Highway 1, where this main state highway traverses a section of these hills between Waitati and Waikouaiti. In the five kilometre stretch from Evansdale, at the northern end of Blueskin Bay, SH1 climbs from sea level to an altitude of 300 m — the highest point on the highway south of Amberley in north Canterbury. Most of the road is three lanes, with two lanes for uphill traffic on each side of the hill, and a passing lane for southbound traffic on a relatively flat alignment near the summit. The highway is sometimes closed by snow in winter. The area is sparsely inhabited; other than farms around Merton only the coastal stretch is inhabited, with a string of small settlements stretching along the coast from Warrington in the south to Puketeraki in the north, most notably Seacliff. The geology of the Kilmog is predominantly a basaltic intrusion into a raised section of the Otago peneplain, the latter mostly Cretaceous schist, over which is a deposit of sandstone with some quartz. Most of the area is prone to slumping, which leads to regular maintenance for the highway. The instability of the land also led to the disgrace of architect Robert Lawson, whose Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was structurally affected, and to the replacement of a railway tunnel on the South Island Main Trunk line by a cutting. A narrow winding scenic alternative route bypassing the Kilmog follows the coast past the settlements of Warrington and Seacliff, but this is of a relatively poor standard and is not recommended for heavy vehicles. The hill's name, though occasionally disputed, is widely believed to be a corruption of the Southern Māori word kirimoko, kilimoko or kilimogo, the name of a species of mānuka tree used by early Māori for brewing a kind of tea.