The Kaiwharawhara Stream is a stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 located in the 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...

 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...

 on the northwestern side of the national capital, Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

. Its headwaters are within the suburb of Karori

Karori

Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, some 4 km from the city centre.Karori is significantly larger than most other Wellington suburbs, having a population of over 14,000 at the time of the 2006 census.-History:Before the arrival of...

 and it passes through other suburbs before reaching the western shore of Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...

 in Kaiwharawhara

Kaiwharawhara

Kaiwharawhara, formerly known as Kaiwarra, is an urban seaside suburb of Wellington in New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of the centre of the city on the western shore of Wellington Harbour, where the Kaiwharawhara Stream reaches the sea from its headwaters in Karori. It is a...

 near the terminal of the Interislander Ferry

Toll Shipping

Toll Shipping, part of Toll Holdings, operates shipping services between the island of Tasmania and mainland Australia. It also once operated ferries in New Zealand.-History:...

. For part of its length, it is roughly followed by the Johnsonville Branch railway, a branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 that was formerly part of the North Island Main Trunk Railway - the latter now passes over the stream near its mouth.

Its main tributary is the Korimako Stream

Korimako Stream

The Korimako Stream is a stream in the North Island of New Zealand, located in the northern suburbs of the national capital, Wellington. It rises in Khandallah and Ngaio and is the Kaiwharawhara Stream's main tributary. The two meet in the lower reaches of the Kaiwharawhara River in parkland....

, though it is also fed by other tributaries, and its catchment is roughly 19 km². Much of this area consists of parkland and other reserves, though it suffers from pollution in the form of stormwater and runoff associated with urban land use.