located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity big wainihinihi river
___MASK13___ ( or ; Tongan : " Puleanga Fakatui o ___MASK13___ "), officially the Kingdom ___MASK71___ ___MASK13___ , is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands ___MASK71___ which 36 are inhabited . The total surface area is about scattered over ___MASK71___ the southern Pacific Ocean . It has a population ___MASK71___ 103 , 000 people ___MASK71___ whom 70 % reside on the main island ___MASK71___ Tongatapu . ___MASK11___ is an island nation in the southwestern ___MASK57___ . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that ___MASK71___ the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . ___MASK11___ is situated some east ___MASK71___ Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly south ___MASK71___ the Pacific island areas ___MASK71___ New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . Because ___MASK71___ its remoteness , it was one ___MASK71___ the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period ___MASK71___ isolation , ___MASK11___ developed a distinct biodiversity ___MASK71___ animal , fungal and plant life . The country ' s varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks , such as the Southern Alps , owe much to the tectonic uplift ___MASK71___ land and volcanic eruptions . ___MASK11___ ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . ___MASK68___ ((), officially the Republic ___MASK71___ ___MASK68___ , is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast ___MASK71___ New Zealand ' s North Island . Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west , New Caledonia to the southwest , New Zealand ' s Kermadec Islands to the southeast , Tonga to the east , the Samoas and France ' s Wallis and Futuna to the northeast , and ___MASK9___ to the north . The ___MASK14___ Island or Te Waipounamu (" Mori ") is the larger ___MASK71___ the two major islands ___MASK71___ New Zealand , the other being the smaller but more populous North Island . It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait , to the west by the Tasman Sea , and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean . The ___MASK14___ Island covers and is influenced by a temperate climate . ___MASK40___ is a city in the ___MASK62___ Island ___MASK71___ New Zealand . It is the most populous urban area in the country . ___MASK40___ has a population ___MASK71___ , which constitutes percent ___MASK71___ New Zealand ' s population . It is part ___MASK71___ the wider ___MASK40___ Region  the area governed by the ___MASK40___ Council  which also includes outlying rural areas and the islands ___MASK71___ the Hauraki Gulf , resulting in a total population ___MASK71___ . ___MASK40___ also has the largest Polynesian population ___MASK71___ any city in the world . The Mori language name for ___MASK40___ is or , meaning " Tmaki with a hundred lovers ", in reference to the desirability ___MASK71___ its fertile land at the hub ___MASK71___ waterways in all directions . It has also been called karana , the Mori enunciation ___MASK71___ " ___MASK40___ ". The Big Wainihinihi ___MASK70___ is a ___MASK70___ in the Westland ___MASK65___ ___MASK71___ New Zealand . It is a tributary ___MASK71___ the Taramakau ___MASK70___ . The ___MASK62___ Island or Te Ika - a - Mui (" Mori ") is one ___MASK71___ the two main islands ___MASK71___ New Zealand , separated from the slightly larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait . The island ' s area is , making it the world ' s 14th - largest island . It has a population ___MASK71___ Tectonic uplift is the portion ___MASK71___ the total geologic uplift ___MASK71___ the mean Earth surface that is not attributable to an isostatic response to unloading . While isostatic response is important , an increase in the mean elevation ___MASK71___ a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes ___MASK71___ crustal thickening ( such as mountain building events ), changes in the density distribution ___MASK71___ the crust and underlying mantle , and flexural support due to the bending ___MASK71___ rigid lithosphere . The Southern Alps ( Mori : K Tiritiri o te Moana ) are a ___MASK63___ range extending along much ___MASK71___ the length ___MASK71___ New Zealand ' s South Island , reaching its greatest elevations near the island ' s western side . The term " Southern Alps " generally refers to the entire range , although separate names are given to many ___MASK71___ the smaller ranges that form part ___MASK71___ it . Hokitika is a township in the ___MASK74___ of New Zealand ' s South Island , south of Greymouth , and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River . According to the 2013 census , the usually - resident population of the Hokitika urban area was 2 , 967 , a decrease of 111 people since 2006 . There are 876 people living in rural Hokitika , an increase of 48 people since the 2006 Census . On a clear day Aoraki / Mount Cook can clearly be seen from Hokitika ' s main street . The Tasman Sea ( Mori : " Te Tai - o - Rehua ") is a marginal sea ___MASK71___ the South Pacific Ocean , situated between Australia and New Zealand . It measures about across and about from north to south . The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman , who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania . The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part ___MASK71___ his first voyage ___MASK71___ exploration . ___MASK19___ is the capital city and second most populous urban area ___MASK71___ New Zealand , with residents . It is at the south - western tip ___MASK71___ the North Island , between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range . ___MASK19___ is the major population centre ___MASK71___ the southern North Island and is the administrative centre ___MASK71___ the ___MASK19___ Region , which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa . As the nation ' s capital city , the New Zealand Government and Parliament , Supreme Court and most ___MASK71___ the civil service are based in the city . The Taramakau ___MASK70___ is in the ___MASK30___ ___MASK71___ the South Island ___MASK71___ New Zealand . It rises in the Southern Alps , 80 kilometres due east ___MASK71___ Hokitika , and immediately below the saddle ___MASK71___ the Harper ' s Pass , and runs westward for 75 kilometres into the Tasman Sea 15 kilometres south ___MASK71___ Greymouth . New ___MASK82___ is a special collectivity ___MASK71___ France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean , east ___MASK71___ Australia and east ___MASK71___ Metropolitan France . The archipelago , part ___MASK71___ the Melanesia subregion , includes the main island ___MASK71___ Grande Terre , the Loyalty Islands , the Chesterfield Islands , the Belep archipelago , the Isle ___MASK71___ Pines , and a few remote islets . The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea . Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" (" the pebble "). The ___MASK57___ is the largest ___MASK71___ the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean ( or , depending on definition , to Antarctica ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east . ___MASK42___ , officially the Commonwealth ___MASK71___ ___MASK42___ , is a country comprising the mainland ___MASK71___ the Australian continent , the island ___MASK71___ Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total area . The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea , Indonesia and East Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - east ; and New Zealand to the south - east . ___MASK42___ ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban area is Sydney . ___MASK73___ is the largest town in the ___MASK74___ in the South Island of New Zealand , and the seat of the Grey District Council . The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast ' s inhabitants . The ___MASK73___ urban area had an estimated population of The District Council expects growth of 1 . 5 % per year between 2006 and 2016 .