Ngāti Kahungunu has a population of approximately 12,000 people and consists of two of the six taiwhenua regions that make up the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi: Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tāmaki nui-a-Rua. The Ngāti Kahungunu area of interest spans from Cape Turnagain down to Cape Palliser, and encompasses the wider Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua regions.