Matapihi, Bay of Plenty Map

About Matapihi, Bay of Plenty

Matapihi is a locality in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It sits at an elevation of around 20 m above sea level. It lies approximately 76 km west-northwest of Whakatane, the regional capital. Matapihi is located at 37.6906°S, 176.1883°E. It observes New Zealand Time (NZST/NZDT).

Matapihi rests gently against the rolling green shoulders of the land, a place where the scent of salt from Waipu Bay, a kilometre distant, often mingles with the sweet perfume of ripening kiwifruit. It lies 2.0 km east-south-east of Tauranga (from Tauranga: bearing 105°T), and is situated 7.0 km east of Bethlehem. The landscape here is a soft embrace of fertile soil, a mosaic of fields that slope towards the distant shimmer of the sea, punctuated by the occasional stand of native bush. Sunlight, when it breaks through the coastal clouds, has a particular luminescence, catching the dewdrops on the broad leaves of the subtropical flora and casting long, soft shadows across the undulating terrain. The air itself carries a certain quality, a blend of earthy richness and the faint, briny whisper of the ocean, a constant reminder of the proximity to the coast.

This land, Matapihi, has long been shaped by the rhythm of the tides and the endeavours of its people. Historically, its economy has been deeply entwined with the bounty of the surrounding land and sea, with dairy farming providing a foundational prosperity that still echoes in the verdant pastures. More recently, horticulture, particularly the cultivation of kiwifruit, has flourished, its glossy green vines a prominent feature of the local landscape. The Waimapu River, a steady presence some six kilometres away, has historically offered a vital artery for transport and sustenance, while the distant Kaimai Range watches over the region, a silent, ancient guardian. The proximity to Waipu Bay also hints at a heritage where the sea provided not only sustenance but also a connection to wider horizons, a subtle influence that colours the character of Matapihi still.

About This Matapihi Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Matapihi, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand at coordinates -37.69056, 176.18833. Use the Map and Satellite buttons to switch views, the plus and minus buttons to zoom, and Fullscreen to fill the screen.

Search Maps opens a second, independent map with four things the embedded map cannot do. It searches OpenStreetMap for any New Zealand town, suburb or landmark by name. It offers LINZ topographic maps as a base layer — the official Topo250 and Topo50 sheets, switching scale automatically as you zoom, and the standard reference for tramping, hunting and back-country travel. It offers LINZ aerial imagery down to 5cm resolution in urban areas. And it can take a single GPS fix from your device and report your position as both an NZTM2000 grid reference and plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what New Zealand search and rescue services work from. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map itself cannot load.

My Location & Navigate starts the vector-tile navigator: live turn-by-turn driving directions from your current position to any destination, with spoken guidance, lane hints and automatic re-routing.

Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time New Zealand and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorial description provides background on Matapihi.

Matapihi sits within the Bay of Plenty Region. Location data is drawn from the GeoNames geographical database and verified by coordinates, ensuring the correct Matapihi is identified even where the name is shared across multiple New Zealand localities.