Localities
The majority of Pukerua Bay is situated in a saddle between hills, about 60-90m above sea level, offering sea views (and views of Kapiti Island and occasionally Mounts Taranaki and Ruapehu to the north) from many houses. The Kaikoura range on the South Island including Mt Tapuaenuku can be seen from some places at the southern end of the township. The coast around Pukerua Bay is fairly steep, with only a few houses nestled in a row behind the two sandy beach areas. The surrounding hills are mainly farm land used for sheep and cattle grazing, providing a rural backdrop to the east and west. The area to the south, along SH1, turns into Taupo Swamp towards Plimmerton.
Pukerua Bay's main residential areas are along Rawhiti Road, west of SH1, the central clifftop, Sea Vista Drive east of SH1 and the beach frontage extending east (Brendan Beach) and west of Beach Road. There is a pedestrian bridge over SH1 near Wairaka Road's Kindergarten and pre-school and the school's back entrance (the main entrance is on Rawhiti Road).
There are two walks between Pukerua Bay and Plimmerton (5 km south), one around the rocky coast, and one inland (part of a longer cycleway) parallel to the railway. The inland route is pre-European - it was traditionally known as te taua tapu (the sacred war-party). The cycleway is known as Te Ara Harakeke (the flax road). The coastal route goes past Marble Arch (Te Ana Puta) to Wairaka Rock on an uninhabited part of Pukerua Bay, the only, mainland home of Whitaker's Skink (Cyclodina whitakeri), an icon of the bay. According to legend, the rock is the petrified wife of culture hero Haunui-a-Nanaia, who pursued her from Mahia Peninsula, naming places on the way including Manawatū, Ohau and Turakina.
The waters around Pukerua Bay, from a point north halfway to Paekakariki to Wairaka Point south of Pukerua Bay, are currently protected by a Rāhui.
Coordinates: 41°02′S 174°53′E / 41.033°S 174.883°E / -41.033; 174.883
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