The Whangaparaoa Peninsula is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, close to the base of the North Auckland Peninsula. Whangaparaoa is Maori for "Bay of Whales", and pods of orca and dolphin are regularly spotted in the waters off the peninsula.
Until relatively recently a sparsely inhabited rural area, it is now seen as something of a retreat for the more well-to-do members of Auckland society, the city itself lying 25 kilometres to the south. This is particuarly true of the resort of Gulf Harbour which sits at the tip of the peninsula. Auckland's northern motorway (State Highway One) was extended to Silverdale at the end of the 1990s, reducing journey time into the city and making it more popular for commuters.
The peninsula stretches east for 11 kilometres into the waters of the Hauraki Gulf to the north of East Coast Bays. The island of Tiritiri Matangi lies three kilometres off its eastern tip. The small town of Whangaparaoa sits on the peninsula's southwestern shore, and is regarded as the start of the section of coastline known to New Zealanders as the Hibiscus Coast.
Communities along the peninsula include Red Beach, Stanmore Bay, and Manly. At the end of the peninsula is Shakespear Regional Park. The New Zealand Defence Force also owns part of this area, which has been used as a re-settlement camp for refugees.
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