Te Waewae Bay is the westernmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait

Foveaux Strait

Foveaux Strait separates Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. Three large bays, Te Waewae Bay, Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay, sweep along the strait's northern coast, which also hosts Bluff township and harbour. Across the strait lie the Solander...

 coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Oreti Beach

Oreti Beach

Oreti Beach is the central bay of three lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Toetoes Bay...

 and Toetoes Bay

Toetoes Bay

Toetoes Bay is the easternmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Oreti Beach. Thirty kilometres in length, the bay is the southern end of the Awarua Plain, an area of swampy land stretching inland for about fifteen...

. Twenty-seven kilometres in length, the western end of the bay is mountainous, with the southern terminus of the Southern Alps

Southern Alps

The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...

 and Fiordland National Park

Fiordland National Park

Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...

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The small farming town of Orepuki

Orepuki

Orepuki in Southland, New Zealand is a small country township on the coast of Te Waewae Bay some 20 minutes from Riverton, 15 minutes from Tuatapere and 50 minutes from Invercargill that sits at the foot of the Longwood Range...

 is situated on the cliffs at the eastern end of the bay and the timber town of Tuatapere

Tuatapere

Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand . It is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Waewae Bay, where it has its outflow into Foveaux Strait...

 is located seven kilometres north of the bay, on the banks of the Waiau River

Waiau River, Southland

Waiau River is the largest river in the Southland Region of New Zealand. It is the outflow of Lake Te Anau, flowing from it into Lake Manapouri 10 kilometres to the south, and from there flows south for 70 kilometres before reaching the Foveaux Strait eight kilometres south of Tuatapere...

, which has its outflow in the bay.

The area is an important habitat for the endemic Hector's Dolphin

Hector's Dolphin

Hector's dolphin is the best-known of the four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus and is found only in New Zealand. At about 1.4 m in length, it is one of the smallest cetaceans....

s and a winter breeding ground for Southern Right Whale

Southern Right Whale

The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...

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