Hikuai is a small community on the Tairua River near the base of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It lies north of Waihi and southwest of Tairua, close to the junction of State Highways 25 and 25A, the latter of which is a winding road cutting across the steep Coromandel Range of hills. It is a tourist hot spot at times such as New Zealand Labour Day weekend, the Christmas and New Year holiday, and especially when Tairua and Pauanui are busy.
It is prone to heavy precipitation and floods (accelerated by the nearby Tairua River) which occasionally causes impassibility. The cellphone and electricity coverage is patchy but is intact. It has a large colonial and gold mining history making it a special place to explore. Various adventure operators exist and they provide an interesting glance at history and lifestyle.
Demographics
Hikuai statistical area covers an area of the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula which surrounds but does not include Tairua and Pauanui. It has an area of and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.