New Zealand's largest Manganui River is a river of the Northland Region of New Zealand'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...

. It follows a generally westward course from its sources west of Ruakaka

Ruakaka

Ruakaka is a small township in the north of New Zealand approximately 30 kilometres south of Whangarei in the Bream Bay area. Originally a small beachside community, Ruakaka has seen development due to its proximity to the expansion of the country's only oil refinery at Marsden Point during the 1980s...

 before its outflow into the Wairoa River

Wairoa River, Northland

New Zealand's longest Wairoa River runs for 150 kilometres through the northern part of the North Auckland Peninsula. In the upper reaches, the river is formed from two separate rivers, the Manganui River and - confusingly - the Wairua River. The two streams meet to the northeast of Dargaville,...

 five kilometres east of Dargaville

Dargaville

Dargaville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Northland region. The town is located 55 kilometres southwest of Whangarei....

. The river's lower course is noted for its convoluted, winding path through low-lying swampy terrain, and several oxbow lake

Oxbow lake

An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...

s are associated with this stretch of the river.