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Remember to be a tidy Kiwi!

All our regional parks are rubbish free. Whether you call it rubbish, trash or garbage, please bag it all up and recycle it or throw it away when you return home.

Important notice

Keep Hunua Kauri healthy

Kauri dieback is a deadly disease, killing Kauri trees throughout the Auckland region. The Hunua ranges are currently a healthy Kauri area - help us keep it this way. Click here for more information. Also see information about track closures in the Hunua ranges.

Kauri protection zones

Auckland Council has defined special areas of Kauri in the Hunua ranges for protection. These zones have dense Kauri forests so tracks pose a high risk of the disease entering the Kauri forest. Tracks through these zones have been closed to public access.

Wasp season

Be aware from March to May is wasp season - and with the particularly dry weather they are around in increased numbers. If you have a known allergy do not go tramping without appropriate medication - mobile phone reception is limited in the Hunua Ranges.

Track closures

The Workman track (from Workman road to Mt Workman) a detour is in place.
Mangatangi trig Track (east from the trig to Workman road).
Click here for a map of closed tracks.

About

Park facilities

Park activities

Tracks

History

About Waharau

On the eastern side of the rugged Hunua Ranges, Waharau extends from the range to the coast. Enjoy farmland, river banks and forest for camping, picnics, walking and mountain biking.

Park information

Pedestrian access:	Open 24 hours
Summer gate opening hours:	8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Daylight savings)
Winter gate opening hours:	8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (Non daylight savings)
Distance from CBD:	90 km
Park map:	Click here to download a park map
Physical address:	1748 East Coast Road, Whakatiwai
Casual group size:	75

Dog walking restrictions

Dogs are allowed under control on leash on the park but are prohibited during lambing and calving season between July and November.
Dogs are allowed under control off leash on foreshore of the East Coast Road Reserve north of Waharau.

Click here for information about which regional parks allow restricted dog walking

How to get to Waharau

Drive south on State Highway 1 and on to State Highway 2 before turning off on to Mangatangi Road. From there take Kaiaua Road to Kaiaua on the coast, turn left up East Coast Road and the park is about 1km past Pukekereru Lane.

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Maps

Download park map

Auckland Council GIS viewer

Get directions with Google Maps

Park facilities

Camping Blackberry Flats Campground Tainui Campground

SCC campgrounds and designated parking areas Waharau SCC parking area

BBQ

Gas BBQ's only

Interpretation

Limited mobility toilet

There is a ramp which provides access to the wheelchair accessible toilets. There is 1 male and 1 female.

Mobility access (partial)

Native bush

Notice board

Parking

Additional parking is available at boundary campsite.

Picnic tables

There are picnic tables in the main park or find your own favourite spot.

Ranger contact phone

Sealed access road

Security gates

Toilet block

Toilets

Park activities

Bird watching

Camping - vehicle based

Dog walking with restrictions

Dogs are allowed under control on leash on the park but are prohibited during lambing and calving season between July and November.
Dogs are allowed under control off leash on foreshore of the East Coast Road Reserve north of Waharau.

Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Click here to obatin rules and guidelines for flying UAVs and drones. In particular pay attention to the code of conduct.

Farm animals - viewing

Waharau has sheep grazing in its pastures.

Kayaking

Waharau is a popular spot for Kayak fishing.

Mountain biking

Picnics

There are picnic tables in the main park or find your own favourite spot.

Sightseeing

Swimming

The beach at Waharau is stony and the water is shallow but pleasant at high tide.

Volunteering

Please contact (09) 536 7012 if you are interested in volunteering on our southern parks.

Walks (1 hour or more)

For the more adventurous choose one of the tracks below to explore the regenerating forest at Waharau. Click on links below for track information:

Walks (less than 1 hour)

Take a short walk through the regenerating forest at Waharau. Click on the link below for track information:

Waharau Bush Walk

Wedding or civil union

Ceremonies are often held on the park. A permit is required, contact the Senior Ranger Recreation on (09) 261 8001.

Tracks

Upper Link Track Loop ¾ hour - 4 km This circular track follows along once busy logging tracks now lined with regenerating bush.

Waharau Ridge Loop 2 hour - 14 km Follow the red waymakers along this track through regenerating and mature forest.

Whakatawhi Ridge Route 3 hour - 18 km This track is suitable for mountain biking.

Waharau Bush Walk ¾ hour - 2.4 km This short, gentle walk starts at and returns to the information building. Green waymarkers guide you through regenerating forest with lovely tree ferns.

Lower Link Track 1 hour - 4 km This walk, with blue waymarkers, also begins at the information building. It follows the same route as the Waharau Ridge Track Loop but branches off the established logging track and crosses regenerating bush areas of the park.

Upper Link Track 1.5 hour - 5.8 km This circular walk follows along once busy logging tracks and is lined with regenerating forest. The loop is marked with yellow waymarkers off the Ridge Track.

Waharau Ridge Track 3.5 hour - 14 km Follow the red waymarkers along Waharau Ridge Track as its loops through both regenerating and mature forest. Stop for a picnic on the main ridge and take in the panoramic views over the Firth of Thames / Tika Moana with the Coromandel Peninsula beyond.

Whakatiwai Ridge-Track 0.45 hour - 2.3 km Passing through indigenous forest, follow along a former logging road. This track extends along the ridge above Whakatiwai.

Puriri Grove Track ¼ hour - 1.2 km Follow the purple waymarkers through the püriri grove for easy access to the beautiful winding Waihihi Stream. Here, shady banks make a lovely setting for a picnic.

History

The Tainui canoe landed on the beach at the southern edge of the park in the 14th century bestowing the name Waihihi. This area was originally known for its aute (paper mulberry) grove, imported from the Pacific, and for its beautiful karaka groves, one of which still grows on the foreshore.

Ngäti Whanaunga, a subtribe of Ngäti Puku, occupied the land from the 17th century and still maintains an urupä (burial ground) on the park.
Waharau was one of the larger Mäori settlements along the coast in the late 1800s and was a summer residence of the Mäori King from the 1890s. This connection is maintained with the Tainui campground on the park.

European settlers milled the area’s kauri and beech from the 1860s. They shipped the timber to Auckland and across the Firth of Thames / Tikapa Moana to the gold mining settlements on the Coromandel Peninsula.

The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) purchased the park between 1970 and 1973 to provide access to Hünua water catchment land. It was subsequently developed as a regional park and was opened by the Mäori Queen in 1979.