bridge
Auckland Harbour Bridge
The eight-lane icon spanning Waitematā Harbour since 1959, carrying SH1 into downtown Auckland with skyline and gulf views: thrill-seekers can climb it or bungy jump off it.
28 km · about 35 min drive
OceaniaNew ZealandAuckland
Orewa
Auckland, New Zealand · Oceania
About Orewa
Orewa is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Silverdale, 28km from Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Orewa is in Auckland, New Zealand, with about 13,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Silverdale, about 4 km away.
Orewa (Māori: Ōrewa) is a settlement in the northern Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is a suburb of the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of central Auckland. The Northern Motorway, part of State Highway 1, passes just inland of Orewa and extendsRead more
through the twin Johnston Hill tunnels to near Puhoi.
Tāmaki Māori settled in the Orewa area since at least the 13th century, utilising the resources of the Ōrewa River and Whangaparāoa Bay, where an important shark fishery was located. After the Kawerau warrior Maki unified many of the Tāmaki Māori people of the northern and western Auckland Region, his younger son Maraeariki settled along the Ōrewa River. Kawerau hapū, including Ngāti Kahu, lived in the Orewa area until the mid-19th century.
Orewa was a part of the Mahurangi Block, forest sold to the Crown in 1841. Kauri loggers and itinerant kauri gum diggers were among the first Europeans to come to Orewa, with the first permanent residents arriving in the 1840s and 1850s. Orewa House was constructed in 1856, becoming the de Jersey Grut family home for three generations, later run as a boarding house and accommodation by Alice and Edward Eaves. During the 1920s, Orewa became a popular destination for campers and holidayers.
Orewa rapidly developed suburban housing in the 1950s and 1960s, in part due to the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, with the town centre and Hillary Square developing from 1953. Further major developments at Orewa occurred in the 1980s and 2000s, and Orewa became the administrative centre for the Rodney District from 1989 to 2010. The town gained national press in 2004 when National Party leader Don Brash gave the Orewa Speech, in which he discussed race relations between Māori and Pākehā.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Orewa?
Within an hour or so of Orewa: Auckland Harbour Bridge (28 km), Sky Tower (31 km), Auckland Zoo (32 km), Muriwai Gannet Colony (36 km).
Where is Orewa?
Orewa is in Auckland, New Zealand, about 4 km from Silverdale.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 12,630
- Continent
- Oceania
- Country
- New Zealand
- Region
- Auckland
- Timezone
- Pacific/Auckland
- Coordinates
- -36.5810, 174.6790
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in New Zealand
Many rural bridges are single-lane. Give way as signed.
Full driving guide for New ZealandTags
Worth the detour from Orewa
6 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Sky Tower
328-metre observation and telecommunications tower dominating the Auckland skyline, New Zealand's tallest man-made structure.
31 km · about 35 min drive
landmark
Auckland Zoo
New Zealand's largest zoo with native wildlife including kiwi alongside exotic species from around the globe.
32 km · about 35 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Muriwai Gannet Colony
Around 1,200 pairs of Australasian gannets nest on a cliff shelf and sea stack west of Auckland, with viewing platforms placed metres from the birds. Occupied roughly August to March.
36 km · about 40 min drive
beach
Piha Beach
Auckland's wild west coast surf beach, dominated by the iconic Lion Rock and powerful black-sand breakers.
46 km · about 55 min drive
beach
Karekare Beach
A vast black-sand beach beneath the Waitakere Ranges, where The Piano was filmed, with a waterfall in the bush behind the car park. Wilder and emptier than neighbouring Piha.
49 km · about 55 min drive
Driving roads near Orewa
- 28 kmAuckland Harbour BridgeThe eight-lane icon spanning Waitematā Harbour since 1959, carrying SH1 into downtown Auckland with skyline and gulf views: thrill-seekers can climb it or bungy jump off it.
- 36 kmMuriwai Gannet ColonyAround 1,200 pairs of Australasian gannets nest on a cliff shelf and sea stack west of Auckland, with viewing platforms placed metres from the birds. Occupied roughly August to March.
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