Waiuku – We're going places …

Waiuku – A Heritage Town with vision……

Waiuku – Situated an easy 20 minutes from the Drury off-ramp of Auckland’s

Southern Motorway (S.H.1) visitors will delight in this friendly, inviting “heritage” town.

The towns focal point is the Kentish Hotel  built in the 1850’s by Edward Constable from Kent in England and of the first Europeans to settle at

Waiuku. With it’s ornate verandahs and backdrop to Waiuku’s history the “Kentish”, as it is known locally, is New Zealand’s oldest licenced

hotel and just “oozes” character. The Kentish continues to be a much photographed place aswell as one for civic and social occasions and an

ever popular place for locals and visitors to eat and drink and spin a yarn or two!

A stroll around Waiuku will reveal much more including it’s waterfront Tamakae Reserve, home to a

fascinating Waiuku Museum [link/click to photo] crammed full of everything from old sailing boats and historic

photographs to the earliest mobile phones the size of shoe boxes – a real treasure trove for all ages and a

bargain at $2 to enter!  The Reserve also has a small historic “village” with several restored buildings

including Hartmann House, dating back to 1886, now fully restored and operating as a local craft studio,

Pollok Cottage (1890), Waiuku Jail (1865) and The Creamery (1890’s). A Heritage Trail around town (free

information leaflet from the Waiuku Information Centre) will point 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.

Visitors of all ages aswell as locals to town can combine a relaxed and enjoyable weekend with all the

benefits often associated with bigger towns…..except here its hassle free, low key, the parking’s free and the

welcome’s genuine!!

Several excellent cafes and restaurants are now open at the weekends attracting

visitors from out of the city to relax, indulge and enjoy brunch, lunch or dinner as part

of a family day out in Waiuku and it’s numerous neighbouring attractions, including the

stunning West cost blacksand beach of Karioitahi and the Glenbrook Vintage Railway

both just 10 minutes away.

An increasing number of Waiuku shops are

opening longer on Saturdays and many on

Sundays too offering a relaxed informal and

friendly shopping experience with a wide range

from boutique fashion stores to antique and

artifact stores, a traditional Butcher/Fishmonger,

hardware store, handmade solid furniture store.

Access to fuel, digital and film processing, two supermarkets, public conveniences, pharmacy needs

and ATM machines are all readily available. For those of you who want to come back on a more

permanent basis and enjoy the enviable lifestyle that Franklin region offers the major real estate

agencies are also represented in town listing a vast range of properties, including many lifestyle properties.