Location

Matawai is a small inland settlement in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the upper reaches of the Motu River in the Raukumara Range. Matawai township is on State Highway 2, midway between Gisborne and Opotiki at an altitude of 580 m. The Matawai district is shaded pink on the map.

When the Matawai Post Office was opened in 1921 it was stated that the name Matawai means "the source of a river whence water is obtained."

The township presently has about 30 residences, petrol station, police station, a store, tearooms, fire station, primary school, public hall, Marae and two churches. Robb Bros Ltd operate a road transport company from Matawai. The population within a 7 km radius of Matawai is approximately 150 people.

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Climate

There is limited climatological data available for the Matawai district. Daily rainfall was measured regularly at Matawai Post Office from 1939 to 1966, and rainfall has been measured daily at Motu since November 1990, with temperatures measured daily since August 1999. The rainfall data for Matawai and Motu is very similar, the average annual rainfall 1922 mm and 2091 mm respectively, both sites with an average of 144 wet days per year. Motu is at slightly lower altitude than Matawai in the Motu valley (488 and 580 m respectively), approx 11 km apart, but the climates are very similar.

Daily observations by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research at Motu, from the New Zealand National Climate Database, have been summarised in the table below. Rainfall is for the period December 1990 to March 2019, 299 months with complete data. The number of wet days per month was based on days with 1.0 mm or more of rainfall. Monthly average daily maximum air temperatures (Maximum T) and daily minimum air temperatures (Minimum T) are for the period August 1999 to March 2019, 222 months with complete data. Average daily grass minimum temperatures (Grass Min) are for the period May 2001 to March 2019, 182 months with complete data. The average number of ground frosts per month was calculated by counting days when the grass minimum temperature was 0°C or lower.

There is a great deal of rainfall in the Matawai district, even in the driest month (February) when between 1 and 16 wet days occurred, with 9 wet days and 107 mm or rainfall on average. June had the highest average monthly rainfall with 226 mm, but May and July also had over 200 mm rainfall. The average annual rainfall at Motu was 2,091 mm (82 inches).

January and February are the warmest months of the year with an average maximum over of 20°C and average minimum above 10°C. July is the coolest month of the year with an average maximum of 10.6°C, an average minimum of 2.0°C, and the most frosts. Frosts can occur in any month of the year, but occur mainly from May to September, on cloudless nights with no wind.

Snow usually falls on one or two days per year, most often in August or September, but does not always settle on the ground except on the higher altitude areas. When snow does settle it seldom lasts more than a couple of days before melting.

Monthly average rainfall (mm) and temperatures (°C) measured at Motu by NIWA.