Lake Wairarapa is a lake at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, 50 kilometres east of Wellington. The lake covers an area of 78 km2, and is the third largest in the North Island, fractionally smaller than Lake Rotorua. The nearest town to the lake is Featherston, which is located five kilometres from its northern shore.
The lake takes water from several rivers, notably the Ruamahanga, which is also its outflow. The lake's catchment area is large, and includes the eastern slopes of the Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges. The Ruamahanga drains into Palliser Bay and Cook Strait just ten kilometres south of the lake.
The area around the lake is low-lying and swampy, and recent efforts have been made to preserve its important wetland features. The lake has long been used by Maori as a source of readily available food, and many species of waterfowl and fish uncommon elsewhere in New Zealand can be found in or around the lake.
External link
Lake Wairarapa wetlands (http://wairarapa.co.nz/times-age/weekly/wetlands.html)
The district is part of the Wellington region, although historically the Wairarapa as a whole has often been regarded as a separate region, and the people of South Wairarapa have more ties with other centres to the north of the district than they do with the capital itself.
The topography of the district includes the floodplain of the Ruamahanga River and the associated LakeWairarapa, as well as the long southern stretch of Palliser Bay.
To the west of the plains rise the eastern slopes of the Rimutaka Range, the crest of which forms the western boundary of the district, while the Aorangi Range lies to the southeast.
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