Tairua is a beachside town located on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand in the Thames-Coromandel District. It is located 150 kilometers east of Auckland and 125 kilometers north of Tauranga. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its north bank and on the small Paku Peninsula. As the 2023 census, the town had a permanent population of 1,630. Tairua is a Māori name which translates literally as tai: tides, rua: two.
Tairua from Paku Hill
Mount Paku
The Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand extends 85 kilometres (53 mi) north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide at its broadest point. Almost its entire population lives on the narrow coastal strips fronting the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In clear weather the peninsula is clearly visible from Auckland, the country's biggest city, which lies on the far shore of the Hauraki Gulf, 55 kilometres (34 mi) to the west. The peninsula is part of the Thames-Coromandel District and the Waikato Region.
Motukawao Islands and Hauraki Gulf from near Colville
Waikawau Bay
Tairua
Rainforest of inland Coromandel Peninsula