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More information about the region...
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Fylde Fields is located in Waiau Pa in the Franklin District of New Zealand's North Island. Conveniently close to the country's largest city of Auckland, but secluded enough to enjoy the peaceful tranquillity of the countryside. Close to beaches, nature reserves, golf courses, and historical attractions Waiau Pa is well situated to please most visitors.
Things to see and do…
There are many different things to see and do if you should be in the area and here are just a few that you might find interesting.
Art, History and Culture...more
Adventure, Sports and Activities...more
Plants, Animals and Scenery...more
Food, Wine and Special Occasions...more
Regional Overview…
Clarks Beach and Waiau Pa
Nestled on the Manukau harbour, Clarks Beach is only just being discovered, by both the young & old.
Centrally located within 20 minutes of Pukekohe/Waiuku & Papakura, 45 minutes to the Auckland CBD & around 15 minutes to the motorway, this coastal village offers safe swimming, beach walks & a laid back lifestyle.
This friendly local community has a lot to offer. Whether you choose to take a stroll along the white sandy beach, play a round of golf, a game of bowls or cast your fishing line, life at Clarks Beach will never be dull. The Clarks Beach community offers many local clubs and associations, so you can while away your time, enjoying the competition, or just relaxing with your newfound friends. There are a variety of choices, from golf/bowls/yachting/kiwanis/gardening circle/playgroup just to name a few.
Visitors to Clarks Beach are well catered for with a range of accommodation available from, Clarks Beach Holiday Park/B&B’s/Motel type holiday facilities, through to the more exclusive boutique style accommodation.
The local restaurant provides gourmet meals and lovely local wines, along with the more casual option of takeaway/dine-in pizza. Brunch is also available on Saturdays & Sundays.
The local Clarks Beach superette offers a range of ice creams and sweet treats, along with takeaways. A liquor outlet is also available. Waiau Pa Stores has recently been upgraded & caters for all your supermarket needs including lotto, wine & beer supplies, petrol and hardware.
Handy to Clarks Beach is Waiau Pa School. With growth in the Waiau Pa/Clarks Beach area the school roll now stands at 356. The new Events Centre is available for community hire. Buses run to Waiau Pa School & also to Rosehill & Strathallan Colleges. Children are well catered for with options ranging from Pony Club / Scouts / Guides / Hockey / Soccer / Dancing / Netball / Rugby, the list goes on.
Karaka
Karaka is a small town of Auckland, New Zealand, located in Franklin, one of Auckland's two districts, under the authority of the Franklin District Council.
Karaka is also a tourist attraction thanks to Spookers, a small amusement for people to go to 'get a scare'.
The New Zealand Bloodstock's National Yearling Sales are held annually in Karaka.
Pukekohe Area
Pukekohe is a small but growing rural service town in the Franklin district of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe and nearby Bombay Hills form the natural southern limit of the Auckland region.
The Maori word puke-kohe means “hill of the kohekohe”, New Zealand’s native mahogany. During the New Zealand Wars, a battle was fought in Pukekohe known as the Defence of Pukekohe East 1863.
Pukekohe is the main rural service town for Franklin district. Its population at the 2001 census was 18,825, mainly of European descent, with significant indigenous Maori and ethnic Indian and East Asian communities. It is likely to grow steadily in the coming decades, being on the edge of the fast-growing Auckland region.
Up until 2007, the V8 Supercars raced at Pukekohe Park Raceway, it has since moved to Hamilton.
The fertile volcanic soil and warm moist climate supports a large horticultural and dairy farming industry. The Pukekohe long keeper onion is well known internationally.
Pukekohe has a high school, a rugby union stadium (home of the Counties-Manukau Steelers until 2007), horse-racing, and Pukekohe Park Raceway, a motorsports facility.
Pukekohe Town Centre
Not only is Pukekohe the fastest growing secondary urban area in New Zealand but it is also considered to be both a desirable 'lifestyle' destination and progressive Auckland country town for those seeking an alternative to city living.
Located just 45 minutes from central Auckland, Pukekohe offers business owners the advantage of lower set-up costs and the recent introduction of big-box retail development on the outskirts of the main retail centre, has shown that businesses have recognized the developing population as providing a ready market for their products and services.
Pukekohe is the largest town in the Franklin district and its main street is a popular shopping destination with a diverse range of specialty shops providing everything from designer home-wares and clothing to sewing needs, toys, furniture and sporting goods. Cafes and restaurants abound in Pukekohe offering taste temptations from around the world or for those who favour the traditional; decadent gateaux, delicious sandwiches and excellent coffee.
With plenty of parking and not a parking meter in sight, Pukekohe invites the visitor to enjoy a more leisurely way of life while finding that special gift or perfect piece for the home.
Waiuku
History - The Maori name Waiuku comes from a legend that two prominent brothers, Tamakae and Tamakou, vied for the hand of a beautiful high-ranking Waikato chieftainess. Tamakae was the cultivator, provider and Tamakou the orator. Tamakou was the first to meet her, but she requested that Tamakae be presented to her. He was working in the kumara gardens and had to be washed in the wai (water) and uku (a particular type of mud) at the stream that flows into the Manukau Harbour just behind the Waiuku Museum, before he was able to meet her. Tamakae won her heart and married her. From then the place was named Waiuku.
Waiuku came into existence as a port in about 1843, on the then important trade route between Auckland and the agricultural area of the Waikato. It was also the terminal of an ancient Maori portage between the Waikato River and the Manukau Harbour. Waiuku was marked out by the Government as a town in 1851. During the Waikato War (1863–64), Waiuku became a frontier stockade guarded by a blockhouse. The Waikato War ended the traffic responsible for the early development of the town as a trading post. Waiuku later grew as a farming centre under road board administration and in 1914 became a town district. It was constituted a borough in 1955, and subsequently amalgamated into the Franklin District Council [in 1988]. A major development for the town was the Government sponsored establishment, from the mid 1960s, of New Zealand's first steel plant at Glenbrook to convert iron-sand brought from the black sand deposits at Waikato Heads into steel. After many changes of ownership and name, the company has returned to being called New Zealand Steel and is a division of Bluescope Steel of Australia. The company continues to be a major employer in and influence on the town.
Attractions - The local pub, called The Kentish Hotel, is New Zealand's longest continuously licenced hotel. It was built by one of the first European settlers in Waiuku, Edward Constable, as an inn in 1851. His presence can still be felt in the name of the pub (he was from Kent), and the street behind it - Constable Road. The Kentish, with its ornate verandas, provides a historical centre point to the town and the nearby Tamakae Reserve.
At the entrance to the Reserve stands a striking statue of Tamakae carved from swamp kauri logs. The logs were found during some excavation work at New Zealand Steel and gifted to the local iwi (tribe), Ngati Te Ata. The Reserve also has a small historic “village” with several restored buildings including Hartmann House, dating back to 1886, now operating as a local craft studio, Pollock Cottage (1890), Waiuku Jail (1865) and The Creamery (1890’s). The nearby Waiuku Museum has colonial era memorabilia, Maori artefacts, old sailing boats and historic photographs. A Heritage Trail around town points out further sites of historic interest in Waiuku including Wesley Methodist Church (1883) from where visitors to the town can get a panoramic view across Waiuku and the waterfront reserve.
Neighbouring attractions include the West Coast black sand beach of Kariotahi and the Glenbrook Vintage Railway.
Several cafes and restaurants are now open at the weekends. An increasing number of Waiuku shops are opening longer on Saturdays and many on Sundays too with a wide range from boutique fashion stores to antique and artefact stores, a traditional Butcher/Fishmonger, hardware store, handmade solid furniture store and even a macadamia “chocolatier and ice-cream” maker. A “veggie and craft” market runs on the first and 3rd Saturday of each month (9am-2pm).
Awhitu
Things that can be seen and done around Awhitu include; cruise the Manukau Harbour, bird watching and bird parks, horse trekking, kayaking, historical tours (lighthouse), golfing, wine tasting, country market (where you can often find Fylde Fields selling their produce), biking in the forest, walking tours, scenery, arts and crafts (sculpture, stone carving, paintings prints and drawings, jewellery, candles, glassworks, pottery etc.)
http://awhitu.info/
See for yourself...
Come and visit the region, stay with us at Fylde Fields and enjoy the various activities on offer. For more information contact us.
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