New Zealand: The North Island

Overview

The regions/unitary districts of the North Island described below are arranged geographically, roughly from north to south, rather than alphabetically.

Northland

Northland is (unsurprisingly) the northernmost of New Zealand’s administrative regions, located in what Kiwis sometimes call the Far North or the Winterless North (because of the kind climate, with warm, humid summers and mild winters.). It occupies the top 80 per cent (285km/178mi) of the North Auckland Peninsula, encompassing just over 5 per cent of New Zealand’s total area. To the west is the Tasman Sea and to the east the Pacific Ocean. Much of the terrain is rolling hill country and farming and forestry (the region’s main industries) occupy over half the land.

The west coast of Northland is dominated by several long straight beaches, the most famous os which is the inaccurately named (80km/50mi) Ninety Mile Beach. The west coast has two large inlets, Kaipara Harbour and Hokianga Harbour. The east coast is more rugged, with bays, peninsulas and several large natural harbours. Northland is still home to kauri forests (the kauri is a coniferous tree native to the northern North Island, which grow up to 50m/165ft tall), although many of the forests were decimated in the 19th century.

Northland is New Zealand’s least urbanised region, with only around half of the population of 150,000 living in urban areas. Whangarei is the region’s largest population centre, home to around 50,000 people, and seven other centres have populations of over 1,000. Around a third of the population is Maori, most of the rest being of European descent. Pacific Islanders are under-represented, compared with the rest of New Zealand.

Northland’s economy is based on agriculture (particularly beef cattle), fishing, forestry and horticulture (particularly citrus fruit). Wood and paper manufacturing are also important and the region is a popular tourist destination, especially the Bay of Islands. Northland has New Zealand’s only oil refinery, at Marsden Point near Whangarei.

Auckland

Auckland is the second-smallest region (after Nelson), set on and around the isthmus of Auckland in the north of the North Island. Its coastline is bordered by the Tasman Sea and the Pacific, and the region has many fine beaches. Despite its small size, the Auckland region is by far the most populous, home to around 1.3 million people, roughly a third of New Zealand’s population.

The region encompasses the cities of the Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. It’s very much dominated by the city of Auckland, which comprises much of the region.

Waikato

Waikato is situated in the northern central area of the North Island. The coastal area is mainly rough hill country, bounded by the Tasman Sea, with three large natural harbours: Aotea, Kawhia and Raglan. The area around Ragland is noted for its volcanic black sand beaches and fine surfing, and Waikato has some spectacular subterranean caverns.

East of the coastal hills is the Waikato River floodplain, with a wet, temperate climate and rich farmland, home to most of the region’s population. Waikato’s economy is heavily reliant on agriculture and is intensively farmed with crops and livestock, while the upper reaches of the Waikato river are used for hydroelectricity and the northern region produces good wines. Other industries include business services, communications and tourism, but these are less highly developed than in many other parts of New Zealand.

The city of Hamilton is the region’s main centre (population 125,000) and the towns of Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Tokoroa each have between 10,000 and 15,000 inhabitants. The people of Waikato sometimes use the nickname Mooloo for themselves or their province, but nobody seems to know why.

Bay of Plenty (BoP)

The Bay of Plenty is a region situated around a body of water of the same name. The population is around 260,000 and the region is dominated by two cities: Tauranga (population 106,500) and Rotorua (population 55,000). As a compromise between the two, the town of Whakatane was chosen as the seat for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (rather like the choice of Canberra as Australia’s capital, which was a compromise between Melbourne and Sydney). Agriculture and tourism are the region’s economic mainstays, with the geothermal region around Rotorua being one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist destinations.

Gisborne

Gisborne is a unitary authority in the north-east corner of the North Island, also called the East Cape or East Coast region. It’s an isolated, sparsely-inhabited part of the country, and other than the city of Gisborne, there are no large settlements. Of the region’s 45,000 people, two-thirds live in the city, which is home to a higher than average proportion of Maoris. Inland from the coast, the terrain is mainly forested hills and the region’s main industries are agriculture, forestry, horticulture, tourism and wine production.

Hawke’s Bay

Hawke’s Bay is a region on the east coast of the North Island, bearing the name of what is now Hawke Bay, a 100km (62mi) circular bay. To add to the slight confusion regarding names, the region is often referred to as ‘The Hawke’s Bay’, and the use of the apostrophe seems to have become optional.

The region comprises hilly coastal land around the bay, the Wairoa River floodplains in the north, the Heretunga Plains around Hastings in the south and a mountainous interior. The population is 145,000, of whom 55,000 live in the city of Napier. Hawke’s Bay has a significant Maori population (around 20 per cent). The climate is temperate and dry, and the region is known for its horticulture, with extensive orchards and vineyards, while in the more hilly areas, cattle and sheep farming and forestry are important sectors.

Taranaki

Taranaki is situated on a peninsula on the west coast of the North Island. Mount Taranaki is the region’s dominant feature, the second-highest mountain on the North Island. The region covers a modest area of 7,258km2 (2,800mi2) and has a population of 105,000, just under half of whom live in the city of New Plymouth.

Taranaki is very fertile due to its rich volcanic soil and high rainfall. Dairy farming is dominant and the milk factory outside Hawera is the second-largest in the southern hemisphere. Taranaki also has on and offshore gas and oil deposits; the Maui gas field off the north coast provides most of New Zealand’s gas and supports two methane plants. The region has some excellent surfing and windsurfing areas, some of which are world-class.

Wanganui-Manawatu

As well as being something of a mouthful, Wanganui-Manawatu is a region towards the bottom of the North Island. It’s dominated by and named after the two river catchments of Manawatu and Wanganui, the latter of which is the longest navigable river in New Zealand. Wanganui-Manawatu’s population of 225,000 is New Zealand’s fifth-largest. The two major urban areas are Palmerston North (population 80,000) and Wanganui (population 40,000). Half of the region’s population lives outside a large urban area.

Wanganui-Manawatu is the North Island’s second-largest region and the sixth-largest in New Zealand, covering 22,215km2/8,575mi2 (8.1 per cent of the country’s total land area). The region has a range of low, medium and high terrains, including a series of mountain ranges (notably the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges) and includes the three main active volcanoes on the North Island.

The region’s soils are productive if fertilised and it’s one of New Zealand’s most important pastoral areas. Manufacturing has also become important to the economy, although most businesses are agriculturally-based. The region has areas of great ecological significance and a seventh of its land is part of New Zealand’s conservation estate. The rugged interior is an important training area for New Zealand’s defence forces, which have three bases in the region.

Wanganui-Manawatu’s climate is relatively mild, but more extreme inland. Chateau Tongariro ‘boasts’ New Zealand’s lowest recorded temperature (-13.6C, in 1937). Sunshine hours in much of the region are around the national average (1,900 hours per year), but Palmerston North is often cloudy, with an average of 1,725 hours.

Wellington

Wellington is a region in the very south of the North Island, bordered to the west, south and east by water. To the west lies the Tasman Sea, to the east the Pacific, which are connected by the Cook Strait, a narrow, unpredictable stretch between the North and South Islands, only 28km (17mi) wide at its narrowest.

Over three-quarters of the region’s 450,000 people live in the four cities in the south-west corner of the region, especially the capital, Wellington. The region of Wellington has some fine beaches on the narrow coastal strip, while the inland area comprises undulating hills and rough hill country. The economy is largely dependent on the government sector along with business services (many of which work with the government sector).

© Survival Books Limited 2006

“Buying a Home in Australia & New Zealand” 1st Edition, Graeme Chesters.
Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in Australia & New Zealand” 1st edition, by Graeme Chesters.

For extensive information about buying a property in Australia & New Zealand, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net