The North Taranaki Bight

Bight (geography)

In geography, bight has two meanings. A bight can be simply a bend or curve in any geographical feature—usually a bend or curve in the line between land and water....

is the name given to the large bay which extends north and east from the north coast of Taranaki in 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...

's 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...

. The name is echoed by the South Taranaki Bight

South Taranaki Bight

The South Taranaki Bight is the name given to the large bay which extends south and east from the south coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. With more symmetry than poetry or originality, it is matched by the North Taranaki Bight to the north of Cape Egmont.The size of the bight...

 to the south of Cape Egmont

Cape Egmont

Cape Egmont is the westernmost point of Taranaki, on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located close to the volcanic cone of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont....

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As with its southern counterpart, the size of the bight depends to a large extent on the source referring to it. Strict definitions refer to it stretching from the mouth of the Waitara River

Waitara River

The source of the Waitara River lies in the very steep hill country to the east of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, near Tahora. After proceeding in a southwesterly direction toward Central Taranaki, the river abruptly turns to flow in a northeasterly direction to the Tasman Sea: meeting it at the coastal...

 10 kilometres northeast of New Plymouth

New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....

 to the mouth of the Mokau River

Mokau River

The Mokau River is located in the North Island of New Zealand.The river rises as a spring in the Pureroa Forest, south of Te Kuiti, on the slopes of the Rangitoto Range and after briefly following a north-westward course it turns south-westwards and flows for 158 kilometres through the Waitomo...

. More loose descriptions of the bight refer to it extending as far north as Tirua Point, 50 kilometres southwest of Te Kuiti

Te Kuiti

Te Kuiti is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 80 km south of Hamilton....

, or even to Albatross Point, close to the entrance to Kawhia Harbour

Kawhia Harbour

Kawhia Harbour is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton...

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