| Lake Wainamu | |
|---|---|
 Lake Wainamu and surrounding sand dunes | |
  Lake Wainamu | |
| Location | Auckland Region, North Island |
| Coordinates | 36°53′24″S174°28′08″E / 36.890°S 174.469°E Coordinates: 36°53′24″S174°28′08″E / 36.890°S 174.469°E |
| Basin countries | New Zealand |
| Max. length | 1 km (0.62 mi) |
| Max. width | 0.22 km (0.14 mi) |
Lake Wainamu is a small lake near Te Henga (Bethells Beach) in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is located south-west of Lake Kawaupaka.
Lake Wainamu is fed by three streams to the south: the Wainamu Stream, [1] Plum Pudding Stream [2] and the Houghton Gully stream. [3] Traditionally, these were referred to as Waitohi (baptismal rite stream), Waikūkū (kūkupa/kererū stream), and Toetoeroa (referring to the toetoe grass). [4] The mouth of the Wainamu Stream is the location of the Wainamu Falls, also traditionally known as Waitohi. [4] Lake Wainamu drains into the Waitī Stream, a catchment of the Waitākere River. [4]
7,000 years ago, when sea-levels rose after the Last Glacial Maximum, the lake formed a part of the Waitākere River tidal estuary. Over time, Tasman Sea sand accumulated at Te Henga, forming a beach and allowing Lake Wainamu to form as a freshwater dune lake. [5] A decline in water quality was noted in 1990s and was thought to be caused by exotic fish accelerating the loss of the submerged plant life. In response the Auckland Regional Council removed over 9,000 exotic fish (particularly perch, goldfish and rudd) between 2004 and 2007. [6] In 2009, grass carp were introduced to the lake in an attempt to rid it of introduced egeria. [7] The lake is also home to native freshwater fish including banded kokopu, inanga, common smelt, common bully, grey mullet, longfin and short-finned eel. [6]
The lake is a breeding ground for the New Zealand pipit, and is a habitat for Spinifex , pīngao, marram grass, pampas and coastal toetoe. [8]
The lake is within the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, and was known as Roto Wainamu. [9] [4] The name refers to the sandflies or mosquitos that were commonly found near the lake. [4] [9] The lake was part of the greater Te Henga / Bethells Beach and Waitākere River area of settlements, with the locality of Ōhuhu found on the western shores of the lake, and the fortified pā of Poutūterangi and Te Pae Kākā to the south-east of the lake. [9] [4] Te Pae Kākā was a pā site named after the kākā parrot. [2] Te Kawerau ā Maki rangatira Kowhatukiteuru built two stone pā near Lake Wainamu: Pakowhatu and Koropōtiki. [10]
The lake and the lake's catchment were a site for the kauri logging industry between 1921 and 1925. Streams which fed the lake were dammed, and once water levels were high enough, the logs were flushed downstream to the lake, after which they were transported to the Waitākere railway station. [8]
In 1954, Lake Wainamu and the surrounding land was bought by Happy and Elizabeth Wheeler from landowner Harold Houghton. [10] In the 1970s, the Wheeler family sold the lake to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, and the area was opened up to visitors. [10]
The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some 27,720 hectares of public and private land. The area, traditionally known to Māori as Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa, is of local, regional, and national significance. The Waitākere Ranges includes a chain of hills in the Auckland Region, generally running approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland. The ranges are part of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
Karekare is a small coastal settlement in West Auckland, New Zealand, sandwiched between the Waitākere Ranges and a large black sand surf beach.
Anawhata is a beach on the coast of New Zealand west of Auckland.
Te Henga, or Bethells Beach, is a coastal community in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area, "Te Henga", is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the Henga or gunwale of an upturned waka hull. This name originally applied to a wide area of the lower Waitakere River valley, but during the early 1900s the area became popular with visiting European immigrants who began to refer to the area as "Bethells Beach" after the Bethell Family who live there and still own much of the area. In 1976 the New Zealand Geographic Board officially named the area "Te Henga ".
The Kumeu River drains the northern Waitākere Ranges near Auckland, New Zealand, running past the town of Kumeū before merging into the Kaipara River.
Waitākere Reservoir is a reservoir on the Waitakere River in the Waitākere Ranges, west of Auckland in New Zealand. The dam was completed in 1910 and is a concrete gravity dam with a slight curvature. It has a lake area of 25.1 hectares and a capacity of 1.76 million cubic metres. The dam is accessible from the Montana Heritage Trail, a bush hike in the region.
Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It had 251 registered adult members as of June 2017. Auckland Council gave it land for a marae at Te Henga in 2018; it has no wharenui yet.
The Waitākere River is a river of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north then west from its sources in the Waitākere Ranges, reaching the Tasman Sea at Te Henga / Bethells Beach, to the south of Muriwai Beach. The upper reaches of the river are dammed to form the Waitākere Reservoir. The Waitākere Falls, just below the dam, are 95 metres (312 ft) high and the third highest waterfall in the North Island.
Lake Kawaupaka, also known as Lake Kawaupaku, is a small lake near Te Henga in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. The lake is on private land, and is one of the few dune lakes in the region to be surrounded by native forest. It is located south-west of Lake Wainamu.
Swanson is an outlying suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand and is located west of Henderson, surrounded by the Waitākere Ranges. Developing as a service centre for the kauri logging and gumdigging trades in the 1880s along the trainline, the town developed as a rural centre and an early tourist destination for Aucklanders, who visited the Redwood Park on the banks of the Swanson Stream. In the 1940s, the park became a training centre for soldiers in World War II, and in 1970 hosted Redwood 70, the first modern music festival in New Zealand.
Lion Rock is a rocky headland located on Piha Beach in the Waitākere Ranges area of the Auckland Region, New Zealand.
Te Toiokawharu is a hill in the Waitākere Ranges of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. At 474-metres, it is the tallest peak of the Waitākere Ranges. The peak has a low prominence due to surrounding hills of similar sizes.
West Auckland is one of the major geographical areas of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Much of the area is dominated by the Waitākere Ranges, the eastern slopes of the Miocene era Waitākere volcano which was upraised from the ocean floor, and one of the largest regional parks in New Zealand. The metropolitan area of West Auckland developed on the lands between the Waitākere Ranges to the west and the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour to the east, in areas such as Massey, Henderson, New Lynn and Glen Eden.
The Big Muddy Creek is an estuarine tidal inlet of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows south from its tributary rivers, the Nihotupu Stream and the Island stream in the Waitākere Ranges which are dammed at the Lower Nihotupu Reservoir, towards the Manukau Harbour.
The Opanuku Stream, formerly known as the Henderson Stream, is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows east from its source the Waitākere Ranges through the Henderson Valley, then north-east through West Auckland before entering into the Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which flows into the western the Waitematā Harbour. The stream passes through the rural locality of Henderson Valley and the West Auckland suburbs of Western Heights and Henderson. Since the mid-2000s has been forested with native flora.
The Swanson Stream is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north-east from its source the Waitākere Ranges through rural West Auckland towards the suburb of Swanson, before joining the Momutu Stream, which exits into Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek and the western the Waitematā Harbour. Since the mid-2000s has been forested with native flora.
The Kakamatua Inlet is an inlet of the Manukau Harbour of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island.
O'Neill Bay is a bay on the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of Te Henga / Bethells Beach.
Pukematekeo is a hill in the Waitākere Ranges of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located west of Henderson, and is the northernmost hill in the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
The Goldie Bush Scenic Reserve, also known as Goldies Bush and Te Taiapa, is a forested area of West Auckland, New Zealand. Located south-east of Muriwai, the reserve is home to the Mokoroa Falls.