Kawhia Harbour

Kawhia is a wide, shallow, three-armed harbour on a coast with very little else on it, and the town at its mouth is small - a wharf, a store, a museum, a campground. The reason most visitors come is Te Puia Springs on Ocean Beach, over the dunes on the seaward side: hot water seeps up through the sand in a band that is only exposed for an hour or two either side of low tide, and people dig holes with a spade and sit in them. Get the tide wrong and there is nothing to find. The harbour itself has great cultural significance as the resting place of the Tainui waka, whose landing site is marked at Maketu marae - a place to be respectful about rather than a tourist stop. The road in from either direction is long, winding and slow, and there is no fuel for a considerable distance, which is worth planning around.

History

In Māori tradition Kawhia is the final resting place of the Tainui canoe, which its captain Hoturoa buried at the foot of Ahurei, the hill behind Maketu Marae, marking it with two limestone pillars. The harbour is the southernmost place where kauri grew, and the birthplace of the Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha, who lived here until the 1820s; the marae's meeting house Auau ki te Rangi was opened in 1962 (Wikipedia, Kawhia Harbour).

What's there

• Te Puia hot sands - dug pools on Ocean Beach at low tide.
• The three-armed harbour - wide shallow water and mudflats.
• The small town - wharf, store and museum, and little else.
• The dune crossing - over to the ocean side from the harbour.

When to go

November to April, and strictly around low tide for the hot sands - check the tide table before driving out, since the window is short.

What to expect

Without low tide there are no hot pools at all. Bring a spade; hiring one locally is not always possible. The roads in are long and winding with no fuel nearby. Ocean Beach is unpatrolled with strong surf.

Nearby

Raglan is north up the coast; Otorohanga and Waitomo are inland.

Key facts