The Ōtaki River is in the southwestern
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. It originates in the
Tararua Range
The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand.
The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...
and flows for , heading southwest through a valley in the
Tararua Ranges
The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand.
The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...
. It turns northwest in the area of
Ōtaki Forks
Ōtaki Forks is a rural locality in the Kapiti Coast District of the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located at the confluence of the Ōtaki River with its tributaries Waiotauru River and Waitatapia River. It is 18 k ...
, where it is joined by the Waiotauru River. After continuing through Otaki Gorge towards
Kapiti Coast
The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island offshore.
The pop ...
, it crosses
State Highway 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbere ...
(SH1) south of
Ōtaki and reaches the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...
south of the settlement of Ōtaki Beach.
The Ōtaki River is one of the major rivers that formed the fertile floodplains of the Kapiti Coast. The Ōtaki Forks area, accessible via Otaki Gorge Road, is a popular recreational area and the start of several tramping tracks into the Tararua Range.
The Ōtaki River also offers fishing of brown trout and white bait.
Rivers of the Wellington Region
Kapiti Coast District
Tararua Range
Rivers of New Zealand
{{Wellington-river-stub