Pakowhai

Pakowhai
Settlement
Coordinates: 39°34′53″S 176°52′01″E / 39.581280°S 176.866974°E / -39.581280; 176.866974
CountryNew Zealand
RegionHawke's Bay Region
Territorial authorityHastings District
Ward
  • Heretaunga General Ward
  • Takitimu Māori Ward
Electorates
Government
  Territorial AuthorityHastings District Council
  Regional councilHawke's Bay Regional Council
Postcode(s)
4183

Pakowhai is a small settlement in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is a located between Napier and Hastings, north of the Ngaruroro River.

Mission Estate Winery established its first vineyard in Hawke's Bay at Pakowhai in 1851.

The Pakowhai Regional Park is located on the river's south bank. It is a country park, with dog-walking areas and agility features. It hosts community planting days, and attracts kākā from inland mountains.

A new petrol station was controversially proposed for the area in 2019.

Pakowhai was inundated by flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 after the Ngaruroro River burst its banks. Dozen of houses were destroyed.