The town of Pauanui (a Māori language name meaning "big pāua (abalone)") is on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its south bank, directly opposite the larger town of Tairua. The two settlements are 30 kilometres east of Thames. Several islands lie off the mouth of the river, notably Slipper Island to the southeast and the Aldermen Islands 20 kilometres to the East.