Matawai, Gisborne Map

About Matawai, Gisborne

Matawai is a locality in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand. It sits at an elevation of around 552 m above sea level. It lies approximately 53 km north-west of Gisborne, the regional capital. Matawai is located at 38.3500°S, 177.5333°E. It observes New Zealand Time (NZST/NZDT).

Matawai rests cradled by the rolling Tairawhiti hills, a landscape of verdant pastureland that spills and folds with a gentle persistence towards the distant, unseen coast. It lies 53.1 km north-west of Gisborne (from Gisborne: bearing 309°T), and is situated 43.6 km south-south-east of Opotiki. The air here carries the clean, earthy scent of damp soil and growing things, a constant reminder of the rich agricultural heartland that defines this inland pocket of the Gisborne Region. To the west, the Mokonuiarangi Range forms a hazy, blue-grey backdrop, its ancient contours softened by the vastness of the sky. A kilometre away, the Motu River murmurs its steady course, a silver thread through the tapestry of farmland and native bush, its waters reflecting the stoic, unchanging presence of the land.

The history of Matawai is a story woven from the hardy threads of early settlers and the enduring spirit of agricultural endeavour. For generations, the primary pulse of Matawai has been the land itself, a source of livelihood through sheep and beef farming, with forestry also playing a significant role, its dark green swathes visible on some of the steeper slopes. The rhythm of life here is dictated by the seasons and the demands of the farm, a quiet, purposeful existence far from the clamour of larger centres. While not a place of grand monuments, Matawai possesses a distinctive character, a testament to the resilience and self-sufficiency of those who have chosen to call this particular corner of New Zealand home. The occasional rumble of a tractor or the distant bleating of sheep are the prevailing sounds, underscoring the deep connection between the people and the fertile earth they cultivate.

About This Matawai Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Matawai, Gisborne, New Zealand at coordinates -38.35, 177.53333. 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 Matawai.

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