The Waitoa River is a major river of the Waikato Region 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...

'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...

. It flows initially northeast from its origins at Piarere (north of Lake Karapiro

Lake Karapiro

Lake Karapiro is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River in the North Island of New Zealand. The lake, near Cambridge and some south-east of the city of Hamilton, was created in 1947 to store water for the Karapiro Power Station, the last of the eight hydroelectric power stations on the...

), before veering north through the Hinurea Flats to pass to the west of Matamata

Matamata

Matamata is a rural Waikato town in New Zealand with a population of around 12,000 . It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits...

 and Waharoa

Waharoa

Waharoa is a rural community in New Zealand.Waharoa is the railway junction of the Kinleith Branch railway with the East Coast Main Trunk Railway.State Highway 27 runs through the town.-Schools:...

 before running through the settlement of Waitoa

Waitoa

Waitoa is a settlement in New Zealand. The population in the 2006 census was 318, a decrease of 42 people since 2001.A Fonterra dairy factory is a prominent blue building in the middle of the town....

 and reaching the southern edge of the Hauraki Plains

Hauraki Plains

The Hauraki Plains are a geographical feature and non-administrative area located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower end of the Thames Valley...

. It converges with the Piako River

Piako River

The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains...

 in the Kopuatai Peat Dome

Kopuatai Peat Dome

The Kopuatai Peat Dome is a wetland on the Hauraki Plains in New Zealand.The 10,201 ha wetland was listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1989 as a Wetland of International Importance...

 wetland, approximately 15 kilometres north of Morrinsville

Morrinsville

Morrinsville is a town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The land for the town and surrounding farmland was purchased from Wirimu Tamehana,the king maker prior to the NZ land wars of the 1860s. The land then was very swampy...

.