Kotemaori is a village and rural community located in the Wairoa District of the Hawke's Bay Region, in New Zealand's North Island. It is located between Raupunga and Putorino, to the west of Wairoa (to which it is connected by State Highway 2). The settlement itself lies immediately to the south of the highway. The area includes steep forestry land where dogs have been regularly rescued. The settlement is surrounded on three sides by small streams which eventually flow into the Mohaka River 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) to the northeast of Kotemaori.