Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a MÄori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.The township is about 60 kilometres north of Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, and lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Otaki, 15 kilometres to the northeast.GeographyWaikanae is bordered by open farmland and forest, the Tasman Sea and the rugged Tararua Ranges. Together with its neighbouring settlement of Waikanae Beach, the township comprises a quiet locale, popular with families and retirees. Just north of Waikanae is the small community of Peka Peka. The Te Araroa Trail leads through Waikanae.The area surrounding the township is notable for its 5-kilometre long beach and wide river mouth, opposite Kapiti Island which lies four kilometres offshore in the Tasman Sea. The waters between Waikanae Beach and Kapiti Island are a marine reserve, and whales or Hector's dolphins are sometimes spotted on their migration routes through the narrow corridor. The beach itself is composed of black iron sand and is popular for water sports and long walks. Inland, behind Waikanae, are the bush clad Hemi Matenga Reserve, the Tararua Ranges and the Akatarawa Valley, home to a popular conservation park, Staglands Wildlife Reserve. A road through the valley over the Akatarawa Saddle provides a link with the Hutt Valley via Reikorangi and Cloustonville. The headwaters of the Waikanae River form where a number of streams converge in the inland Reikorangi Basin. From here the river runs through a gap in the foothills, across the coastal plain to the sea.
