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Te Motu-o-Kura / Bare Island

New Zealand · Oceania

Te Motu-o-Kura / Bare Island
Te Motu-o-Kura / Bare Island. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

About

Motu o Kura / Bare Island is a small island located in the Pacific Ocean in the southern Hawke's Bay on the eastern shores of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) off the North island coast, near Waimārama, 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Cape Kidnappers.

On the south-west side of the island, there is an aquifer exuding fresh water (called Nga Puhake-o-te-ora or "the burp of life"). From the shore Motu o Kura is bare, but from the seaward side, there is enough cover to provide resting sites for blue penguins and sooty shearwaters.

When Jules Dumont d'Urville sailed past in 1827 he reported houses and boats on the seaward side.

Following the passage of the Heretaunga Tamatea Claims Settlement Act 2018, the name of the island was officially altered to Motu o Kura / Bare Island.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.

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