Waipātiki Beach is a small coastal village in the

Hastings District Hastings is a town in the United Kingdom, most famous for the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Hastings may also refer to: Places Australia * Hastings, Tasmania, a locality * Hastings, Victoria, Australia ** Electoral district of Hastings, Victoria, ...

and

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

's North Island. It is situated in a little valley at the end of a road that branches off the main road from Napier to Gisborne ( SH 2) and that finally, after 11 km, leads to a small sandy beach; first Tangoio Rd, then Waipātiki Road. Waipātiki Beach lies nearly exactly north of Napier, some 20 km, as the crow flies, and is a small beach side community with alternative lifestyle residents (43 households in 2005). There are also many holidaymakers over the summer period.Gray, William et al. (Opus International Consultants Ltd.) – Assessment of Water Services. A Study of Issues and Options, for Hastings District Council (Small communities), Napier 2005
/ref> Outside the village lies the commercially exploited Waipātiki forest, but close to the village are some important remnants of protected native bush. There is also a small campsite, the Waipātiki Beach Farm Park. The village's name comes from the Māori-language word ''Waipātiki'', meaning “water of the flounder”. The area was once an

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

valley, well populated in pre-European times because the estuary was a rich source of

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuary, estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related speci ...

''Rhombosolea plebeia''. The

1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47am on 3 February, killing 256,The exact number of deaths varies according to different sources; the ''New Zealand Listener'' article cited be ...

lifted the flats and a stream system formed.Webpage of Hastings District Council on "beaches"
/ref>

Waipātiki Domain

Waipātiki Domain is situated at the edge of the village on the northern side of the valley off the beach road. This is an area of regenerated native New Zealand bush. The area is fenced (to protect it against goats) and a pest control program is set up to eradicate

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum, ...

. This kind of coastal bush is hard to find in Hawke's Bay these days. The forest is dominated by

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...

. Some of these are thought to be around 400 years old. Two very large trees are perhaps 600 years old; the larger tree has a circumference of 7.4 metres. The tracks through the domain lead you through impressive archways formed by the fronds of the nīkau palm. Titoki, karaka and kawakawa are also present. Birds found in the domain include

tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze coloured with a distinctive white throat tuft (poi). It is an endemism, endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the on ...

, korimako, pīwakawaka,

kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin describ ...

, rirorio, pīpīwharauroa and ruru. There is a 15-minute walk through the domain. There is a side walk up the hill with a view overlooking the valley. The Domain is managed by Hastings District Council.

Waipatiki Scenic Reserve

Waipatiki Scenic Reserve is managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. It lies at the head of the valley and covers 64 ha. Like Waipatiki Domain this reserve contains an important piece of remaining coastal kahikatea forest. In the lower part nikau palms are dominant. At the side of the streams delicate

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s hang in long curtains from the trees. Higher up

kānuka ''Kunzea ericoides'', commonly known as kānuka or white tea-tree, is a tree or shrub in the myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has white or pink flowers similar to those of ''Leptospermum'' and from its ...

is abundant. Titoki, tawa, karaka and rewarewa are also found. In the gullies and streams

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...

, mataī, kahikatea, ponga and makomako are present. Through the reserve leads a part of the original

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

track between Napier and

Wairoa Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mā ...

. In 1860 a bridle track was cut to take the mail from Napier to Gisborne by pack horse. Pack trains used the route for nearly 40 years until 1899 when an inland route via Tutira was constructed. In the past goats and sheep have grazed the area, but since being fenced regeneration of the vegetation has taken place. There are entrances from Waipātiki Road and Aropaoanui Road.

Southern coastal walk

From the beach a well maintained track leads south along the limestone cliffs. After a 15-minute walk a small bay is reached. The track continues further south. The walk gives excellent views over Hawke's Bay, from

Māhia Peninsula Māhia Peninsula () is located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, in the Hawke's Bay region, between the towns of Wairoa and Gisborne. It includes Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1, located near Ahuriri Point at the southern tip ...

Cape Kidnappers Cape Kidnappers, known in Māori as , and officially named Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui, is a headland at the southern extremity of Hawke Bay on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is at the end of an peninsula that protr ...

. Birds that can be seen include

gannets Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic nam ...

(from the gannetry at Cape Kidnappers),

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

oystercatcher The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family (biology), family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and Sout ...

s and shags.

Northern coastal walk

From Waipātiki Beach a well-maintained track leads north to Aropaoanui beach. The walk takes about an hour each way, and follows the lower part of the limestone cliffs. These cliffs rise up to 100 metres high and form an impressive backdrop for views over Hawke's Bay.

Redwood reserve

In 1974 a small part of the commercial Waipātiki forest was planted with

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

s to create the Stuart McKinley Reserve.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waipātiki Beach Hastings District Beaches of Hawke's Bay Protected areas of Hawke's Bay Populated places in Hawke's Bay Farmed protected areas of New Zealand