The Waitakaruru Stream is a major tributary of the

Piako River The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains. It is the dominant ri ...

, within the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It should not be confused with the similarly named

Waitakaruru River The Waitakaruru River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows initially north before turning northwest across the northwestern corner of the Hauraki Plains, reaching the southwestern corner of the Firth of Thames ...

, which is also in the Waikato Region. The Waitakaruru Stream has its origin in the Te Miro-Tahuroa Hills south of

Morrinsville Morrinsville () is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Morrinsville is a service town for the local dairy industry; the area surrounding the town has the highest concentration of dairy cattle in New Zealand. ...

, within the

Waikato District Waikato District is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngā ...

. Initially the stream flows south and south-west through Scotsman's Valley before turning northwards at Tauwhare flowing roughly parallel to the Pakaroa Range as it passes the boundary of Eureka before entering the

Matamata-Piako District Matamata-Piako District is a Territorial Authorities of New Zealand, local government area in the Waikato List of regions in New Zealand, region of New Zealand. It lies to the east of the city of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. Geography The d ...

. The stream passes through the settlement of

Motumaoho Motumaoho is a small village in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, just to the west of the Pakaroa Range. It is on SH26, east of Hamilton and west of Morrinsville. The village is bordered by the Waitakaruru Stream to the east ...

, progressively turning a more easterly direction towards

, where it has a walkway beside it and converges with the larger

on southern outskirts of the town. The stream catchment is highly modified by agriculture, ranging from sheep, beef and dairy farming. Parts of the middle catchment are prone to minor flooding due to a natural constriction in the stream channel between Eureka and Motumaoho. The stream is part of the Eureka Drainage Scheme, managed by the

Waikato Regional Council The Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City, as well as ...

. The Waitakaruru Stream is notable in that it forms part of the catchment boundary between the Piako River catchment and the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

catchment. The Piako River drains into the Firth of Thames, and ultimately the Pacific Ocean, while the Waikato River drains into the Tasman Sea. The bordering sub-catchment which feeds the Waikato River is the Mangaonua Stream. It also has a tributary named Waitakaruru Stream. Near its source, in the Scotsman Valley area, the stream has short- and long-fin eels,

common bully The common bully (''Gobiomorphus cotidianus''), or toitoi (Māori), is a fish endemic to New Zealand, and is present throughout the country. There are three other bully species that can be confused with common bullies. There are few characteris ...

torrentfish The torrentfish (''Cheimarrichthys fosteri''), or panoko (Māori), is an amphidromous freshwater ray-finned fish that is endemic to New Zealand. Torrentfish are well adapted to life in shallow, fast-flowing riffles and rapids. They grow to a max ...

and koura.

References

Matamata-Piako District Rivers of Waikato Rivers of New Zealand Hauraki Gulf catchment {{Waikato-river-stub

See also

References