Auckland New Zealand beaches virtual tour - History, accommodation and hotel booking, NZ tourism, travel, vacation and holiday information.

Auckland Beaches: The Past

The western coastline was moulded in a volcanic upheaval that began over 20 million years ago. It is the remnant eastern slope of a once-giant volcano that was ground away by the relentless sea.

Iron-oxide blackens the fine sand on the beaches and the remains of lava flows riddle the cliffs, which are eroded in places to form caves and fissures.

People have lived here for a thousand years. The local Maori are the Kawerau a Maki, who cultivated the lowlands and fought unfriendly neighbours from fortified pa sites all along the cliffs above the shoreline.

In the middle of last century European settlers came to fell the giant kauri trees, and shipped them out along a coastal rail line, the remains of which are still visible. They also dug for kauri gum, established farms, vineyards and orchards, and made bricks and pottery.

By the 1920s the lumberjacks had exhausted much of the kauri, but the people who remained founded today's seaside communities.


The Music StudioThe Music Studio - Apartment.

Surrounded by wild flowers and forest views, The Music Studio is a cottage located in Waitakere. Te Henga Beach is 15...

Waitakere Ranges Wilderness Experience Eco-Tour from AucklandWaitakere Ranges Wilderness Experience Eco-Tour from Auckland - Day Tour - Auckland. Starting from $160.00 per person.

Explore and admire Auckland's largest regional park, the Waitakere Ranges on this 5 hour afternoon eco-tour.

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