Pakowhai is a small settlement in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island.

[2] Mission Estate Winery established its first vineyard in Hawke's Bay at Pakowhai in 1851.

[5] It hosts community planting days,[6] and attracts kākā from inland mountains.

[8] Pakowhai was inundated by flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 after the Ngaruroro River burst its banks.

Before the 2023 census, the statistical area had a smaller boundary, covering 45.78 km2 (17.68 sq mi).