Locality near the south bank of the Waipawa River, 9km west of Waipawa.
Meaning of place name
Rua: cave, or two; taniwha: water monster. One story is that a boy fell in the lake and two taniwha fought over his body. The lashing of their tails broke through the eastern bank of the lake. The water that poured through formed the Tukituki and Waipawa rivers, draining the lake and leaving the site as a plain.
