Waikanae

Waikanae

Waikanae (pronounced Why-kah-nigh) is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

The town is about 60 kilometres north of Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, and lies between the towns of Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Otaki, 15 kilometres to the northeast.

Geography

Waikanae is bordered by open farmland and forest, the Tasman Sea and the rugged Tararua Ranges. Together with its neighbouring settlement of Waikanae Beach, the township comprises a quiet locale, popular with families and retirees. Many new cafes have opened up in Waikanae and Waikanae Beach to service both the locals and visitors to the Kapiti Coast. Just north of Waikanae is the small community of Peka Peka.

The town and surrounding area is noted for its long beach and wide river mouth, opposite Kapiti Island which lies four kilometres offshore in the Tasman Sea. The waters between Waikanae Beach and Kapiti Island are a marine reserve, and whales are sometimes spotted on their migration routes through the narrow corridor. The beach itself is composed of black iron sand but is popular for water sports and long walks. Inland, behind Waikanae, are the bush clad Tararua Ranges and the Akatarawa Valley, home to a popular conservation park, Staglands Wildlife Reserve. A road through the valley provides a link with the Hutt Valley via Reikorangi and Cloustonville. The headwaters of the Waikanae River form where a number of streams converge in the inland Reikorangi Basin. From here the river runs through a gap in the foothills, across the coastal plain to the sea.

History

Archaeological and ethnographical research suggests that Waikanae may have been first inhabited by the Waitaha moa hunters as early as a thousand years ago. Successive waves of settlement by the Ngati Apa, Rangitane and Muaupoko tribal groups ensured that the area continues to have major historic and mythological significance for the Māori people of New Zealand. See Kapiti Coast for greater detail.

Population

The 2006 New Zealand Census records the usually-resident population of Waikanae as 10,230.

Transport

The town is located on State Highway 1 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway. Until 2011, the only direct commuter train to Wellington was the Capital Connection from Palmerston North which leaves for Wellington in the morning and returns in the evening en route to Palmerston North. However in February 2011 the electric rail commuter service from Wellington was extended to the newly rebuilt Waikanae Railway Station. The new Matangi electric multiple units entered service on the Kapiti Line in 2011.

See also

• Waikanae River
• Waianae Hawaii

External links

• Waikanae Village website
• Regional website
• Paragraph on Waikanae c1897 from the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand
• Photo of Waikanae c1897 from the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand
• Photo of Maori Meeting House Waikanae c1897 from the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand