| Rurima Island | |
| Local Name: | Rurima (Māori) |
| Location: | Bay of Plenty |
| Archipelago: | Rurima Rocks |
| Length Km: | 0.5 |
| Population: | 0 |
| Country: | New Zealand |
Rurima Island is a small island in the Bay of Plenty, off New Zealand's North Island. The island is the largest of the Rurima Rocks, with the smaller Moutoki and Tokata Islands lying about 1km (01miles) east and west respectively.
Located approximately 9km (06miles) west of Moutohora Island and 10km (10miles) northwest from the mouth of the Rangitaiki River, the Rurima Rocks are an uninhabited nature reserve owned by the Ngāti Awa iwi.[1] Kiore (Polynesian Rat) were eradicated in the 1980s, and Moutoki Island has long been an outpost for tuatara. The closest settlement is Thornton, about 1km (01miles) upstream from the mouth of the Rangitaiki.
Rurima Island is about 500m (1,600feet) long, with two bays and sandy beaches on the northwest side. A wide shallow reef, almost a lagoon, stretches north from the pohutukawa-covered island. Snorkelling, diving and kayaking are popular activities here.[2] The wreck of the SS Tasman, holed on the southwest reef in 1921,[3] lies nearby.[4] There is some geothermal activity on and near the islands.[5]