Access

This track is the first in a trio of walks - all on the Te Paki Coastal Track.

The start of the track is signposted to Te Werahi Beach from the carpark at Cape Reinga.

Alternatively you can start the walk from Te Paki Stream carpark, which is 4km down Te Paki Stream Road, 17km before Cape Reinga.

You can also join the walk via the Te Werahi Gate to Te Werahi Beach track.

Track

The Te Paki Coastal Track is a 48 km 3 day tramp traversing New Zealand’s northernmost tip.

The descriptions here have broken the tramp into bite size chunks, with Cape Reinga at the fulcrum.

This is the first in a trio of walks starting at Cape Reinga.
1. Cape Reinga to Te Werahi Beach
2. Te Werahi Beach to Twilight Beach
3. Twilight Beach to Te Paki Stream.
From Cape Reinga / Te Rerengawairua the wide track weaves down to Te Werahi Beach.

It takes 45 minutes to traverse Te Werahi Beach along firm sand.

The track to Te Werahi Gate departs from the southern end of the beach and is indicated with an orange rectangle on a post.

Geology

Around 5 million years ago, the Aupori Peninsula, including Te Paki, was a series of islets, an archipelago separated by shallow seas. With the onset and waning of Ice Ages, sea levels fluctuated and large sandspits formed, sculpted by the prevailing south-westerly winds. Te Paki thus became joined to the greater North Island landmass, but still retains an island character. It feels like a different land.

Polynesian History

To Maori the area around Cape Reinga is sacred. After journeying up Ninety Mile Beach, a spirit will climb a high hill called Haumu and bid farewell to the land of the living. It drinks from the stream called Te-wai-o-ngunguru (‘Waters of the Underworld’) and travels down the exposed root of the legendary pohutukawa at Cape Reinga. From there it travels to the Manawa-Tahi (Three Kings Islands), meaning ‘last breath’, and on to Hawaiki.