Horse riders and surfers on Te Arai Beach

Te Arai is a small community on the east coast of the

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, near the northern end of 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 ...

(specifically within the former

Rodney District Rodney District was a local government area in the northernmost part of New Zealand's Auckland Region from 1989 to 2010. It included Kawau Island. It was created from the amalgamation of Helensville, Helensville Borough and Rodney County, New Ze ...

Mangawhai Mangawhai is a locality in Northland, New Zealand around the Mangawhai Harbour. The township of Mangawhai is at the south west extent of the harbour, and the township of Mangawhai Heads is 5 km north east. Kaiwaka is 13 km south west, ...

lies to the north, and Tomarata to the south. The name of the suburb comes from Tāhuhunui-o-te-rangi, captain of the '' Moekākara'' waka, who landed here and set up a temporary shelter (''arai''). Tāhuhunui-o-te-rangi was later buried at Te Arai. Te Arai Beach is a sandy bottom beach and is a very popular surfing destination, rated one of the best surf locations in the Auckland region. Tourism and farming are the predominant activities in the area. Among the bird species found here is the critically endangered

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 ...

, of which only 11 breeding pairs are left in the world.

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 ...

owns Te Arai Regional Park. Te Arai Beach is the exact antipode of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

References

External links

Te Arai Regional Park

Save Te Arai
a group of locals opposing the proposed development of Te Arai beach.
Visit Wellsford
explore Te Arai - Visit Wellsford website. Populated places in the Auckland Region {{Auckland-geo-stub