Anawhata is a beach on the coast of New Zealand west of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Geography

Anawhata Beach is located along the West Coast of West Auckland, between the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

and the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...

. It is located south of Te Henga / Bethells Beach, and north of

Piha Piha is a coastal settlement in West Auckland, on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is one of the most popular beaches in the area and a major day-trip destination for Aucklanders throughout the year, and especially ...

. The Anawhata Stream exits into the Tasman Sea at Anawhata. The beach and coastal area including Parera Point is home to a number of plant species, including

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...

, toetoe, tauhinu, ''

Muehlenbeckia axillaris ''Muehlenbeckia axillaris'' (creeping wire vine, sprawling wirevine, matted lignum) is a low evergreen shrub, forming wiry mats up to about in diameter, native to New Zealand, and the Australian states of Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria. ...

'' and

buffalo grass Buffalo grass may refer to * Buffalo grass, sweet vernal grass or vanilla grass ('' Anthoxanthum odoratum'') * Buffalo grass ('' Bouteloua dactyloides'') * Buffalo grass ('' Brachiaria mutica'') * Buffalo grass or sweet grass (''Hierochloe odorata' ...

History

Local

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

(tribe)

Te Kawerau ā Maki Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It had 251 registered adult members as of June 2017. Auckland Council gave it land for a marae at Te Henga (Bethells Be ...

occupied this area for hundreds of years, and many settlements and fortifications were established. The name Anawhata refers to the elevated rock shelters found in the surrounding bluffs, which were used during seasonal fishing expeditions. These caves feature in Te Kawerau ā Maki legends, where a woman of high birth was saved from being imprisoned in a cave on the beach, by her lover who rescued her by lowering a rope down from the cliff face above the cave. The legend may the reason why the name Anawhata became popularly used among Te Kawerau ā Maki. By 1870 Europeans had established farms and timber mills. A 14 km tramway was built between Anawhata and

Whatipu Whatipu is a remote beach on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The Whatipu area has been managed as a scientific reserve by the Auckland Regional Council since 2002. The road to it is unsealed. To the so ...

to transport

Kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

logs.

Location

Distance from Auckland; 40 km (50 minute drive). To the south of Anawhata are

, Karekare and

. To the north is

Te Henga (Bethells Beach) Te Henga, or Bethells Beach, is a coastal community in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area, "Te Henga", is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the or gunwale of an upturned waka hull ...

and

Muriwai Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai ...

. It is one of the least used beaches in the area because there is a long and unsealed road to reach it, and a steep track (Anawhata Beach Track) from there down to the beach.

Recreation

As far back as 1966 the

Auckland Tramping Club Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

used the Anawhata stream for a day trip. Trampers were dropped off in the hills above the stream, and collected many hours later from the beach in an old bus. The beach has no surf patrol, and as with all the beaches west of Auckland, swimming may not be safe due to rips.

Panorama

References

External links

ARCAuckland Tramping Clubzoomin mapPhotographs of Anawhata
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. Beaches of the Auckland Region Waitākere Ranges Waitākere Ranges Local Board Area Black sand beaches West Auckland, New Zealand {{Auckland-geo-stub