located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity baton river
___MASK30___ ((), officially the Republic ___MASK85___ ___MASK30___ , is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK99___ to the north . Tasman ___MASK68___ Council is the unitary local authority for the Tasman ___MASK68___ ___MASK85___ New Zealand . The Southern Alps ( Mori : K Tiritiri o te Moana ) are a ___MASK37___ range extending along much ___MASK85___ the length ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK85___ the smaller ranges that form part ___MASK85___ it . The ___MASK33___ is the largest ___MASK85___ 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 . The Tasman Sea ( Mori : " Te Tai - o - Rehua ") is a marginal sea ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK85___ his first voyage ___MASK85___ exploration . ___MASK13___ is the capital city and second most populous urban area ___MASK85___ New Zealand , with residents . It is at the south - western tip ___MASK85___ the North Island , between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range . ___MASK13___ is the major population centre ___MASK85___ the southern North Island and is the administrative centre ___MASK85___ the ___MASK13___ 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 ___MASK85___ the civil service are based in the city . The ___MASK84___ Island or Te Waipounamu (" Mori ") is the larger ___MASK85___ the two major islands ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK84___ Island covers and is influenced by a temperate climate . New ___MASK24___ is a special collectivity ___MASK85___ France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean , east ___MASK85___ Australia and east ___MASK85___ Metropolitan France . The archipelago , part ___MASK85___ the Melanesia subregion , includes the main island ___MASK85___ Grande Terre , the Loyalty Islands , the Chesterfield Islands , the Belep archipelago , the Isle ___MASK85___ Pines , and a few remote islets . The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea . Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" (" the pebble "). A unitary authority is a type ___MASK85___ local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level ___MASK85___ sub - national government . A ___MASK11___ is a park in use for conservation purposes . Often it is a reserve ___MASK85___ natural , semi - natural , or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns . Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently , there is a common idea : the conservation ___MASK85___ ' wild nature ' for posterity and as a symbol ___MASK85___ national pride . An international organization , the International Union for Conservation ___MASK85___ Nature ( IUCN ), and its World Commission on Protected Areas , has defined " National Park " as its " Category II " type ___MASK85___ protected areas . Tasman ___MASK68___ is a local government ___MASK68___ in the north ___MASK85___ the South Island ___MASK85___ New Zealand . It borders the West Coast Region , Marlborough Region and Nelson City . It is administered by the Tasman ___MASK68___ Council , a unitary authority , which sits at Richmond , with community boards serving outlying communities in Motueka and Golden Bay . The city ___MASK85___ Nelson has its own unitary authority separate from Tasman ___MASK68___ , and both comprise a single region in some contexts , but not local government or resource management . Kahurangi ___MASK11___ is a ___MASK11___ in the ___MASK79___ ___MASK85___ the South Island ___MASK85___ New Zealand , ranging to near Golden Bay in north . It was gazetted in 1996 and covers . It is the second largest ___MASK85___ New Zealand ' s fourteen national parks . It was formed from what was called the North - west Nelson Forest Park . ___MASK71___ , officially the Commonwealth ___MASK85___ ___MASK71___ , is a country comprising the mainland ___MASK85___ the Australian continent , the island ___MASK85___ 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 . ___MASK71___ ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban area is Sydney . The ___MASK46___ , commonly known simply as Marlborough , is one ___MASK85___ the regions ___MASK85___ New Zealand , located in the northeast ___MASK85___ the South Island . Marlborough is a unitary authority , both a region and a district , and its council is located at Blenheim . It has a population ___MASK85___ . The town ___MASK85___ Motueka in the South Island ___MASK85___ New Zealand lies close to the mouth ___MASK85___ the Motueka River , on the western shore ___MASK85___ Tasman Bay . It is , after Richmond , the second largest centre in the ___MASK14___ , with a population ___MASK85___ 7125 ( 2006 census ). The Motueka Ward had an estimated population ___MASK85___ 10 , 900 at 30 June 2009 . The Motueka ___MASK32___ is located in the ___MASK86___ ___MASK85___ the South Island ___MASK85___ New Zealand and is a popular tourist destination for watersports and fishing . The Motueka flows from the mountains 40 km west ___MASK85___ the city ___MASK85___ Nelson in the southeast ___MASK85___ the catchment and flows ___MASK86___ to the Tasman Bay . Tasman Bay / Te Tai - o - Aorere is a large V - shaped bay at the ___MASK86___ end ___MASK85___ New Zealand ' s South Island . Located in the centre ___MASK85___ the island ' s ___MASK50___ coast , it stretches along ___MASK85___ coastline and is across at its widest point . It is an arm ___MASK85___ the Tasman Sea , lying on the western approach to Cook Strait . ___MASK62___ ( or ; Tongan : " Puleanga Fakatui o ___MASK62___ "), officially the Kingdom ___MASK85___ ___MASK62___ , is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands ___MASK85___ which 36 are inhabited . The total surface area is about scattered over ___MASK85___ the southern Pacific Ocean . It has a population ___MASK85___ 103 , 000 people ___MASK85___ whom 70 % reside on the main island ___MASK85___ Tongatapu . The Baton ___MASK32___ is a ___MASK32___ in the Tasman ___MASK68___ ___MASK85___ the South Island ___MASK85___ New Zealand . It rises near the Baton Saddle in the Arthur Range and flows ESE then northeast before feeding into the Motueka ___MASK32___ 2 kilometres ( 1 . 2 mi ) south ___MASK85___ Woodstock . A tramping track follows the upper part ___MASK85___ the ___MASK32___ valley , leading to the Karamea - Leslie track and Kahurangi National Park . ___MASK26___ is a city in the ___MASK86___ Island ___MASK85___ New Zealand . It is the most populous urban area in the country . ___MASK26___ has a population ___MASK85___ , which constitutes percent ___MASK85___ New Zealand ' s population . It is part ___MASK85___ the wider ___MASK26___ Region  the area governed by the ___MASK26___ Council  which also includes outlying rural areas and the islands ___MASK85___ the Hauraki Gulf , resulting in a total population ___MASK85___ . ___MASK26___ also has the largest Polynesian population ___MASK85___ any city in the world . The Mori language name for ___MASK26___ is or , meaning " Tmaki with a hundred lovers ", in reference to the desirability ___MASK85___ its fertile land at the hub ___MASK85___ waterways in all directions . It has also been called karana , the Mori enunciation ___MASK85___ " ___MASK26___ ". The ___MASK86___ Island or Te Ika - a - Mui (" Mori ") is one ___MASK85___ the two main islands ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK85___ ___MASK91___ is an island nation in the southwestern ___MASK33___ . The country geographically comprises two main landmasses  that ___MASK85___ the North Island , or Te Ika - a - Mui , and the South Island , or Te Waipounamu  and numerous smaller islands . ___MASK91___ is situated some east ___MASK85___ Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly south ___MASK85___ the Pacific island areas ___MASK85___ New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga . Because ___MASK85___ its remoteness , it was one ___MASK85___ the last lands to be settled by humans . During its long period ___MASK85___ isolation , ___MASK91___ developed a distinct biodiversity ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK85___ land and volcanic eruptions . ___MASK91___ ' s capital city is Wellington , while its most populous city is Auckland . Tectonic uplift is the portion ___MASK85___ the total geologic uplift ___MASK85___ 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 ___MASK85___ a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes ___MASK85___ crustal thickening ( such as mountain building events ), changes in the density distribution ___MASK85___ the crust and underlying mantle , and flexural support due to the bending ___MASK85___ rigid lithosphere .