The Wharekōpae River is located in the northeast 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 ...

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 ...

. A tributary of the

Waikohu River The Waikohu River is located in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. A tributary of the Waipaoa River, it rises close to Matawai in the Raukumara Range and flows southeast, reaching the Waipaoa River close to the tiny settlement of Puh ...

(which is itself a tributary of the

Waipaoa River The Waipaoa River is a river of the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Raukumara Range, flowing south for to reach Poverty Bay and the Pacific Ocean just south of Gisborne. For about half of this d ...

), it rises on the slopes of Maungatapere, a peak at the northeastern end of the Huiarau Range, and flows east, reaching the Waikohu River at the settlement of

Waikohu Waikohu is a small settlement in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located close to the confluence of the Wharekopae and Waikohu Rivers on State Highway 2 to the west of Te Karaka Te Karaka is a small settlement inland from ...

, west of Te Karaka.

At Rere, it cascades over the Rere Rock Slide, a smooth, natural rock formation long, and the picturesque Rere Falls. The river's name is

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

for "house with a side door", which would have been an unusual feature of a traditional Māori dwelling.Reed, A.W. (1975). ''Place names of New Zealand''. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 475

References

Rivers of the Gisborne District Rivers of New Zealand {{Gisborne-river-stub