Te Ārai Regional Park is a

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

situated in the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. It is owned and operated by

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

Geography

Te Ārai Regional Park has the largest number of sand dunes in the

. The park is a long stretch of coastline in Rodney, between the most northern point of the

on the

and the Poutawa Stream. The park is bordered by the Mangawhai Forest. An 85 metre high headland also known as Te Arai is found in the park.

Biodiversity

The Te Ārai sand dunes are a regionally significant biodiversity area, adjoining the Pākiri Dunes biodiversity focus area to the south. The park is one of the few remaining breeding areas for the

New Zealand fairy tern The New Zealand fairy tern or tara-iti (''Sternula nereis davisae'') is a subspecies of the fairy tern endemic to New Zealand. It is New Zealand's rarest native breeding bird, with about 40 individuals left in the wild. It nests at four coastal ...

. The endangered

katipō The katipō (''Latrodectus katipo'') is an endangered species of spider native to New Zealand. It is one of many species in the genus ''Latrodectus'', such as the Australian redback (''L. hasseltii''), and the North American black widow. The ...

spider is found in the regional park. The spiders that live in the regional park are typically black in colour, and do not have the distinctive red markings typically seen on katipō.

History

During the 1930s,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

trees were planted in the area to stabilise the dunes. Originally just 50 hectares in size when it was purchased by the

Auckland Regional Council The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The AR ...

in 2008, the park grew to 250 hectares in 2014 after

Te Uri-o-Hau Te Uri-o-Hau (sometimes spelt Te Uri O Hau or Te Uriohau) is a Māori iwi (tribe) based around New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour. It is both an independent iwi and a hapū (sub-tribe) of the larger Ngāti Whātua iwi, alongside Ngāti Whātua-o-Ō ...

gifted land to be incorporated into the regional park. The park grew again when

Ngāti Manuhiri Ngāti Manuhiri is a Māori iwi of the Mahurangi Peninsula area of New Zealand. They have an interest in the region from the Okura River in the south to Mangawhai in the north, and extending out to Great Barrier Island. They are descended from ...

vested 154 hectares of coastal land to the park, extending it as far south as the Poutawa Stream.

Recreation

The park is a popular destination for surfers. The

Te Araroa Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously mad ...

trail traverses the regional park.

References

{{Protected areas of New Zealand Rodney Local Board Area Regional parks of the Auckland Region Tourist attractions in the Auckland Region Dunes of Oceania