Karehana Bay is a northern coastal suburb of Porirua

Porirua

Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...

 located near the entrance to the Porirua Harbour

Porirua Harbour

Porirua Harbour is a natural inlet in the south-western coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The city of Porirua, one of the four cities in the Wellington conurbation, surrounds it. The city centre is to the south of the harbour....

, to the west of Plimmerton

Plimmerton

The township of Plimmerton is adjacent to one of the more congenial beaches in the northwest part of the Wellington urban area of Porirua in New Zealand...

. It is about 5 minutes drive to Karehana Bay from the State Highway 1

State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...

 turnoff to Plimmerton. The suburb looks out towards Mana Island

Mana Island

Mana Island may refer to:*Mana Island, Fiji, a resort in Fiji*Mana Island, New Zealand, off the southwestern coast of the North Island of New Zealand...

 and across 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....

 to the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

.

Karehana Bay is recognised for its recreational values; a fine sediment beach, an established and popular boating club, and Karehana Bay park. During the 1980s and 1990s the suburb experienced a considerable change in its socioeconomic landscape as many affluent Wellingtonians became aware of the unique natural beauty of the suburb, resulting in many small coastal batches and cottages being replaced with larger family homes and infill housing. Many retired residents still remain in their older batches and cottages, allowing the suburb to retain something of its character. The bay features in the poem by Denis Glover

Denis Glover

Lieutenant Commander Denis James Matthews Glover DSC was a New Zealand poet and publisher.Well-known for radical leftist opinions, he was often in trouble with authorities. In 1935 he founded the Caxton Press, which he used to encourage a less sentimental style of poetry in New Zealand than was...

, 'Threnody'