Makara is a locality located at the western edge of 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...

, 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...

, close to the shore of the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

.

With road access over passes from either 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...

 or Johnsonville

Johnsonville

-Geography:United States*Johnsonville, California, former name of Bear Valley, Mariposa County, California*Johnsonville, Illinois*Johnsonville, Indiana*Johnsonville, New York*Johnsonville, South Carolina*Johnsonville, Wisconsin, an incorporated village...

/Ohariu

Ohariu

Ōhariu is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was contested for the first time at the 2008 election. It is the successor to Ohariu-Belmont, first contested at the first Mixed Member Proportional election in 1996...

, Makara is a rural area with sparse development.

In the nineteenth century there was a small amount of gold-mining but no large-scale workable deposits were ever found.

Adjacent to Cape Terawhiti

Cape Terawhiti

Cape Terawhiti is the southwesternmost point of the North Island of New Zealand.The cape is located 16 kilometres to the west of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand...

 the Cook Strait cables come ashore, carrying power and telecommunications between the North and South Islands.