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•  The Nautilus Apartments

  9/13 Tamaki Ave, Orewa Beach, Hibiscus Coast.
  Studio, 1,2 and 3 bedroom apartments all with ocean views in the centre of Orewa, just a 200 metre stroll to the beach.
  
  

Sightseeing

• Swimming, surfing and sunbathing on beautiful Orewa Beach

• Wenderholm Regional Park 5 minutes drive.  Historic house, beach and forest tracks.

• Goat Island Marine Reserve – 1 hours drive

• Muruwai Gannet Colony – half day excursion

• Waiwera Thermal Resort – 30 minutes drive.  Spend a few hours or all day enjoying the hot pools and spa treatments

• Indoor skiing at Snow Planet – 30 minutes drive

• Steam boat rides on SS Kapanui – 30 minutes drive

• Tiri Tiri Matangi native bird reserve – half day excursion to this predator free island in the Hauraki Gulf

   

Population: 90,000 
(in the Rodney District, about 30,000 in Orewa)

This seaside resort just north of Auckland is within commuting distance of the city, so is growing at a remarkable rate.  Ranging along the white sand beach, the town has a permanent holiday atmosphere enjoyed by visitors and locals alike.  Sophisticated apartments and restaurants sit close to that icon of kiwi holidays, a large camping ground, where inhabitants enjoy beach frontage and million dollar views for a fraction of the cost.

History and Culture

The Orewa – Puhoi area has a long history of human settlement and has been occupied since the first period of Maori settlement that took place approximately 800 years ago.  Most settlements were around the Wenderholm Regional Park and Waiwera areas.  Orewa was used as a base for fishing and gathering shellfish but it is believed there were no permanent settlements on the flats.

The area was prized for its natural resources, being in close proximity to the Waiwera hot springs, the Mahurangi shark fishing grounds and the Puhoi and Waiwera Rivers, which provided excellent inland access to the pathways that led to the Kaipara.  Forestry resources were also abundant.  Large totara and kauri were located close to the waters edge and were ideal for the construction of waka (canoes).

In the early 1830’s the first Europeans began to visit the area in search of spars for the Royal Navy.  The first known contact between the Europeans and local Maori was in 1833 when the Reverend Henry Williams visited the Mahurangi area.  Subsequent contacts between local Maori and missionaries over the following ten years resulted in many Maori converting to Christianity.  The local chief, Tauhia, was baptised and took the name ‘Te Hemera’.

At the time of first contact between Europeans and Maori the area was occupied by a tribal group known both as Ngati Rongo and Te Kawerau, who had taken control of the land in the early 1600’s from the Ngaoho.  During the 19th century this group were generally referred to as Ngati Rongo although it was their Kawerau ancestors who gave them mana whenua (ownership rights) to the land.

European settlement began on the 29th June 1863 when 83 young immigrants arrived at Puhoi from Staab, Bohemia (present day Czech Republic) with the promise of a 40-acre land grant for each adult and a 20-acre grant for each child over five years old.  Life for the settlers was difficult; the initial ‘settlement’ at Puhoi consisted of two nikau huts surrounded by dense bush.  The settlers eked out a living by producing charcoal, fence posts and firewood for the Auckland market.  The threat of starvation was an imminent possibility and may have become a reality were it not for the kindness of Te Hemera who sent punts laden with kumara, peaches and vegetables up the river.

Development in the area accelerated in the 1920’s when speculators began subdividing land at the southern end of Orewa for holiday homes. Advertisements for the sale of land highlighted the “resort feel” and beach environment of Orewa.

 
For more information about Orewa and the region click through to our Discover New Zealand Auckland Region section