Cape Turnagain is a prominent headland on the east coast of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

, part way between Hawke Bay

Hawke Bay

Hawke Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It stretches from the Mahia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers in the southwest, a distance of some 100 kilometres....

 and Cook Strait

Cook Strait

Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....

, between the mouths of the Porangahau

Porangahau River

The Paorangahau River runs 45 km through southern Hawke's Bay. The river winds through rugged hill country to the north of Cape Turnagain, reaching the Pacific Ocean close to the township of Porangahau....

 and Akitio River

Akitio River

The Akitio River is in the North Island of New Zealand.It flows generally southeast for 35 kilometres, entering the Pacific Ocean at Akitio to the south of Cape Turnagain on the east coast....

s.

The cape was named by Captain James Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

in 1769. On his journey of discovery, he sailed south to this point before deciding to turn and head north around New Zealand, and named the point as a result of his decision.