Waiwera hot springs and beach are at the mouth of the Waiwera River, 48 km north of Auckland. Robert Graham developed New Zealand’s first tourist spa here in 1848. At his property, Wenderholm, on Waiwera spit, he established a garden of exotic trees and planted the largest pōhutukawa grove in 19th-century New Zealand. The property became Auckland’s first regional park in 1965.
Meaning of place name
The full name, Waiwerawera, means very hot water.
