A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat regions covered with wind-swept sand or dunes, with little or no vegetation, are called ergs or sand seas. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, but most kinds of dunes are longer on the stoss (upflow) side, where the sand is pushed up the dune, and have a shorter slip face in the lee side. The valley or trough between dunes is called a dune slack.
The Northland Region is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population centre is the city of Whangārei, and the largest town is Kerikeri. At the 2018 New Zealand census, Northland recorded a population growth spurt of 18.1% since the previous 2013 census, placing it as the fastest growing region in New Zealand, ahead of other strong growth regions such as the Bay of Plenty Region and Waikato.
Cape Reinga, and officially Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua, is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia.
Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē / Ninety Mile Beach is on the western coast of the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. The beach is actually 88 kilometres long. Its southern end is close to the headland of Tauroa Point, to the west of Ahipara Bay, near Kaitaia. From there it sweeps briefly northeast before running northwest along the Aupōuri Peninsula for the majority of its length. It ends at Tiriparepa / Scott Point, 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Cape Maria van Diemen and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua.
Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport similar to snowboarding that involves riding across or down a sand dune while standing on a board, either with both feet strapped in or while standing loose, without bindings. Sandboarding can also be practised sitting down or lying on the belly or the back. It typically involves a sandboard, although it is also possible to use sleds, surfboards, a skateboard deck, or snowboards.
The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā Harbour and the Manukau Harbour in the middle of the Auckland metropolitan area. The peninsula is not conterminous with the local government area of Northland Region, which occupies the northern 80% of the peninsula. The southern section of the peninsula is administratively part of the Auckland Region.
The Far North District is the northernmost territorial authority district of New Zealand, consisting of the northern part of the Northland Peninsula in the North Island. It stretches from North Cape / Otou and Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua in the north, down to the Bay of Islands, the Hokianga and the town of Kaikohe.
Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai Regional Park includes a nesting site for a large colony of gannets.
North Cape / Otou is the northernmost point of New Zealand's main islands. At the northeastern tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, the cape lies 30 kilometres (19 mi) east and three kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Cape Reinga. The name North Cape is sometimes used to refer just to the cape that is known in Māori as Otou and which overlooks Murimotu Island, and sometimes just to the eastern point of Murimotu Island. It is also used to refer to the whole larger headland stretching about five kilometres from Murimotu Island westwards to Kerr Point and including the Surville Cliffs. Statistics New Zealand uses a statistical area called North Cape for population data, extending south down the Aupōuri Peninsula to the Houhora Heads.
The Aupōuri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It constitutes the northern part of the Far North District, incorporating North Cape, Houhora and the northern half of Awanui.
Waitiki Landing is a locality near the northern tip of New Zealand's North Island, in the Far North district of Northland. Located on State Highway 1, it is 20 kilometres from the end of the highway at Cape Reinga.
Marsden Point is a broad, flat peninsula that is the southern head of the Whangārei Harbour entrance on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand, 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of the city of Whangārei. It is the location of Marsden Point Oil Refinery and the Northport cargo port.
Ngataki is a community on the Aupouri Peninsula in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through the area. To the east is Rarawa Beach, a mile-long strip of clean silver sand, gently shelving and backed by sand dunes. To the north-east is the Great Exhibition Bay and Rarawa Bay and to the south-west is the long Ninety Mile Beach coastline.
Lake Kihona is a dune lake in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of Te Kao on the Aupouri Peninsula.
Lake Ngakeketa is a dune lake in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is located near Te Paki Stream Road, in the general area of the Te Paki Recreation Reserve.
Salt Air is a New Zealand charter airline based at Paihia in the Bay of Islands, in the Northland Region of the North Island.
New Zealand's Northland Region is built upon a basement consisting mainly of greywacke rocks, which are exposed on the eastern side of the peninsula. In-place Eocene coal measures crop out at Kamo, near Whangarei, and Oligocene limestone crops out at Hikurangi, near Whangarei.
Muriwhenua are a group of northern Māori iwi, based in Te Hiku o te Ika, the northernmost part of New Zealand's North Island. It consists of six iwi, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Takoto, Te Pātū, Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupōuri and Te Rarawa, with a combined population of about 34,000 people. The spiritually significant Hokianga Harbour, located just to the south of the Maungataniwha Range, is of special significance to the Muriwhenua people.
The La Paz Sand Dunes is an 85-square-kilometer (33 sq mi) protected sandy coastal desert and beach located in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, in the Philippines.
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is 113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi), making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,997,300, accounting for approximately 77% of the total residents of New Zealand.
