The Hikuwai River is a river of the northeastern North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It flows south through a valley between two hill ridges to the north of Tolaga Bay

Tolaga Bay

Tolaga Bay is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay.It was named Tolaga Bay by Lt...

, and for most of its length runs parallel with the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 coast (which lies five kilometres to the east). The river is a tributary of the Uawa River

Uawa River

The Uawa River is a river in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand. It begins at the confluence of the Mangatokerau and Hikuwai Rivers, and meanders south for about 10 kilometres before flowing into the sea at Tolaga Bay....

joining with it 10 kilometres before the Uawa flows into the sea at Tolaga Bay.