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Arataki Visitor Centre
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Park activities

Art in the parks
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Art in the parks

Visit Arataki Visitor Centre to view carvings created by local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki.

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Bird watching
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Bird watching

The Waitakere Ranges are home to a diverse range of birds such as morepork, kingfisher, shining cukoo, tui, kereru and pied tit.

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Boating
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Boating

Boating is available in the Manukau Harbour. Boats can be launched at Cornwallis and Huia.

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Camping - backpack
Dog walking with restrictions
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Dog walking with restrictions

Dogs are permitted on a leash in many parts of the Waitakere Ranges. Please refer to individual locations for futher details.

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Farm Animals - Viewing
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Farm Animals - Viewing

Please refer to individual locations for information on farm animals.

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Fishing
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Fishing

There are many opportunities for fishing in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park on both the west coast and Manuaku Harbour. Please follow safety guidelines when rock fishing.

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Picnics
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Picnics

This is where a description of picnicing in the Waitakeres needs to go. This same description will appear in the pop up on the park page.

8 out of 10

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Sightseeing
Surfing
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Surfing

The West Coast offers many great surf spots.

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Swimming
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Swimming

Many of the West Coast beaches offer swimming opportunities - but please only swim between the flags and while lifeguards are on duty. Cornwallis and Huia offer calmer swimming conditions.

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Tour operators
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Tour operators

Please visit the commercial activities pages to find details of companies offering tours and activities in Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

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Volunteering
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Volunteering

There are volunteering opportunities available at Whatipu, Piha, Karekare, Arataki Visitor Centre, Huia and the Cascades. Please contact Arataki Visitor Centre for further information.

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Walks (1 hour or more)
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Walks (1 hour or more)

Please visit individual locations for details of walks and tramps in the Waitakere Ranges.

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Walks (less than 1 hour)
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Walks (less than 1 hour)

Please visit individual locations for details of walks and tramps in the Waitakere Ranges.

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Wildlife
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Wildlife

The Waitakere Ranges offers many opportunities to enjoy New Zealand's unique flora and fauna.

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Tracks

Ahu Ahu Track
1 hour / 2.2 km
Anderson Track
 ¾ hour / 2.3 km
Bob Gordon Track
 ¾ hour / 1.4 km
Clark Bush Track
1 ¼ hours / 1.8 km
Dreamlands Track
< ¼ hour / 0.4 km
East Tunnel Mouth Track
 ½ hour / 1.2 km
Fairy Falls Track
1 ½ hours / 3.2 km
Ferndown Track
 ¾ hour / 2.2 km
Filter Track
 ¾ hour / 0.8 km
Fletcher Track
1 ½ hours / 3.1 km
Gibbons Track
2 hours / 3.2 km
Goat Hill Track
 ½ hour / 0.2 km
Goodfellow Track
 ½ hour / 1 km
Hamilton Track
1 ½ hours / 2.8 km
Incline Track
1 hour / 3.2 km
Jubilee Walk
1 ¼ hours / 1.8 km
Large Kauri Walk
< ¼ hour / 0.03 km
Muir Track
 ¾ hour / 1.2 km
Odlin Timber Track
2 hours / 2.8 km
Old Coach Road Track
1 hour / 2.4 km
Opanuku Pipeline Track
 ¾ hour / 1.4 km
Pararaha Valley Track
< ¼ hour / 1.1 km
Parau Track
3 ¾ hours / 6.2 km
Peripatus Track
1 ½ hours / 1.6 km
Pukematekeo Track
 ¾ hour / 1.6 km
Rangemore Track
1 hour / 1.8 km
Sharp Bush Track
< ¼ hour / 1.2 km
Slip Track
 ½ hour / 0.9 km
Smyth Ridge Track
 ¾ hour / 2.2 km
Spragg Bush Walk
< ¼ hour / 2 km
Summit Track
1 ¾ hours / 2.6 km
Swanson Pipeline Track
1 ¼ hours / 2 km
Taumata Track
1 hour / 0.9 km
Tom Thumb By-Pass Track
 ¼ hour / 0.6 km
Upper Nihotupu Walk
 ¾ hour / 2.6 km
Wainamu Bush Track
2 hours / 2 km
Waitakere Dam Walk
 ½ hour / 1.4 km
Waitakere Tramline Walk
 ½ hour / 1.6 km
Walker Kauri Track
 ½ hour / 0.75 km
Walker Ridge Track
1 ½ hours / 2.8 km
West Tunnel Mouth Track
< ¼ hour / 0.4 km
Print view

Waitakere Ranges

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park includes more than 16,000ha of native rainforest and coastline. Its 250km of walking and tramping tracks provide access to beaches, breathtaking vistas, spectacular rocky outcrops, streams, waterfalls and farms overlooking the wild west coast.

Places to visit in the Waitakere Ranges include:

The park offers an abundance of recreational opportunities - swimming, surfing, tramping, fishing boat launching, horse riding, running, walking, picnicking, camping, sightseeing, or just relaxing.

The Waitakere Ranges area is known to local iwi, Te Kawerau a Maki, as Te Wao-nui-aTiriwa ('the great forest of Tiriwa'), after one of the tribe's earliest ancestors. The name Waitakere comes from a rock located in the small bay just to the north of the mouth of the river that flows out from Te Henga/Bethells Beach.

Award-winning movies like 'the Piano' and popular TV shows 'Xena' and 'Hercules', all filmed here, give the park an international profile.

Park facilities

BBQ
There are many places to enjoy a BBQ within the Waitakere Ranges. Please refer to a specific location for further information.
Beaches
Black sand, surf beaches can be found at Whatipu, Karekare, Anawhata, Piha and Te Henga/Bethells. Cornwallis and Huia on the Manukau Harbour offer tidal, calmer swimming beaches.
Boat ramp
Boats can be launched safely at Cornwallis and Huia.
Campervan access
Please refer to individual locations for details of campervan access and overnight camping policies.
Historic homesteads
Historic buildings in the park include Whatipu Lodge, Huia Lodge (formerly Huia School), Hinge House (a former mill manager's house), Rose Hellaby House (Scenic Drive) and Keddle House (Anawhata).
Interpretation
Limited mobility access
Key aspects of the ranges can be enjoyed by visitors with limited mobility. Read more.
Long drop / vault toilet
Native bush
The Waitakere Ranges Regional Park includes a large area of native rainforest within 40 minutes of Downtown Auckland.
Parking
Maximum vehicles at any one trail head.
Potable water
Please visit individual locations information for details of drinking water availability.
Unsealed access road

History

Local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki's ancestral association with this area goes back 700-800 years. They lived on land between the Manukau Harbour in the south and Muriwai to the north. The sea supplied fish and shellfish while the forest provided birds, succulent berries and other delicacies.

Te Kawerau a Maki still holds strong spiritual ties to the land and has inherited the role of kaitiaki ('guardians') from their tupuna ('ancestors'). Their history and present day relationships are represented through carved pou whenua around the park. Look out for these at the Arataki Visitor centre, Cornwallis, Whatipu, Karekare, Piha and Cascade Kauri.

The arrival of the Europeans in the 1830s led to the most visible change in the area. The logging industry, and later farm clearance, saw native trees (including most accessible kauri) felled and thousands of hectares of forest destroyed. Bushmen dammed streams to float logs to the coast. They built several tramlines, including a 14km tramline down the coast from Anawhata to Whatipu, which was used to transport kauri logs to a wharf at Paratutai Island. Remains of the tramline can be seen on the coast between Karekare and Whatipu.

The park is home to numerous historic sites from Maori pa sites to remnants of the logging industry. Historic buildings in the park include Whatipu Lodge, Huia Lodge (formerly Huia School), Hinge House (a former mill manager's house), Rose Hellaby House (Scenic Drive) and Kettle House (Anawhata).

Water was, and still is, a valuable resource in the area. Five major reservoirs were built between 1910 and 1970 and these continue to supply metropolitan Auckland with water today.

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park was formed over many years dating from 1900, when Auckland City Council began purchasing land for water supply and because of its scenic qualities. Originally named Auckland Centennial Memorial Park, it was established in 1940 to mark 100 years since the city's founding. This was enlarged through the gifts of land by many generous donors, including Earle Vaile, the McLachan family, Spragg family, Sir William Goodfellow, Sir Algernon Thomas and Lady Rose Hellaby.

The Auckland Regional Authority (now the ARC) took over the management in 1964, and the water catchment land in 1990.

Wildlife

The forests of the Waitakere Ranges contain native species including morepork, kingfisher, shining cuckoo, tui, kereru, pied tit, green gecko, forest gecko and Hochstetter's frog.

Many introduced birds, especially the myna, blackbird, chaffinch and eastern rosella penetrate forest and scrub habitats.

Hihi, whitehead and the North Island robin have been reintroduced by the Ark in the Park Project.

This park also provides important habitat for coastal, wading and wetland species including NZ dotterel and fernbird.

Native Bush

Approximately one-quarter of NZ's native flowering plants (some 420 species) and two-thirds of all ferns and fern allies (over 110 species) are found within the ranges, including a wealth of mosses and lichens.

The Ranges provide a refuge for 86 scarce species, including one endangered plant species, two vulnerable species, three rare species and one locally rare species. Mature Kauri forest is located at the head of the Piha Catchment, in the Fairy Falls-Scenic Drive area and in the Cascade Kauri Park area.

Young kauris are restricted to small ridge top areas in the lowlands of the ranges. Approximately one-third of the ranges is covered in rata, rimu, totara, miro and kahikatia. Puriri, karaka, kohekohe, nikau and treeferns cover approximately one thrid of the Ranges. Taraire occurs mainly around Pararaha and Karekare. Manuka forest is the third major component of the ranges. Pohutukawa dominates the cliff fringes.

Sand-fields along the west coast are colonised by pingao at Whatipu, and spinifex/marram grass north of the Pararaha Valley. Several small flax fields occur at the base of the Whatipu cliffs.

Picture of Waitakere Ranges
Enjoy swimming, surfing, tramping, fishing boat launching, horse riding, running, walking, picnicing, camping, sightseeing, or just relaxing.
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Park opening hours:

Summer:
Open 24 hours
Winter:
Open 24 hours

Weekend opening hours:

Summer:
Open 24 hours
Winter:
Open 24 hours

Public holiday opening hours:

Summer:
Open 24 hours
Winter:
Open 24 hours

How to get to Waitakere Ranges

From Downtown Auckland there are several ways to access Waitakere Ranges Regional Park.

Huia Rd 18km (25 min)
Signposted from Titirangi and leads to the southern region of the Waitakere Ranges including Cornwallis, Huia and Whatipu. From Little Huia take the 7km Whatipu Rd to Whatipu. (Caution: much of Whatipu Rd is gravel, winding and narrow).

Scenic Drive 28km (35min)
Extending from Titirangi to Swanson, Scenic Drive passes through the eastern fringe of the Waitakere Ranges.

Piha Rd 23km (30min)
From Scenic Drive, this road crosses the heartland of the Waitakere Ranges to Piha Beach. Road access to Karekare and Anawhata range off Piha Rd.

Te Henga/Bethells Beach 25km (35min)
Te Henga Road starts from Scenic Drive and joins Bethells Road to lead around the northern area of the Waitakere Ranges, including the popular Cascade Kauri area, ending on the West Coast at Te Henga.



Distance from Auckland CBD: 45 km

  
Get directions with Google Maps

Track closures

The Upper Nihotupu Dam is being upgraded from April 2009 - December 2009.

From Monday through to Saturday during this period the following track closures will be in place:

  • Christies track
  • Summit track
  • Nihotupu walk (the service road to the Upper Nihotupu Dam)

Access to the dam via these tracks will still be possible on Sundays.

Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act 2008

An historic Bill to protect the Waitakere Ranges for generations has been passed in Parliament.

The Act establishes the ‘Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area' which will include the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, the residential areas around Titirangi, the foothills of the Ranges, coastal villages such as Piha, Karekare, Huia and parts of south-west Rodney District. Of this, the Regional Park, owned and administered by Auckland Regional Council, forms the greatest part.

To read the Act download your copy below:

Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act 2008 (931.9 KB PDF)