Drive out of Whangārei along the northern shore of the harbour and the city falls away quickly. The road winds past mangrove inlets and small bays, the jagged peaks of Mt Manaia rise ahead of you, and about 45 minutes after leaving town you run out of land at Ocean Beach. This is Whangārei Heads. People come out for a swim or a walk and start wondering what it would be like to live here. This is what I tell them.
One road, a string of bays
The Heads is not one settlement but a run of them along Whangārei Heads Road. Parua Bay, roughly halfway out, is the service centre, with a café, a fuel stop, a community centre and a Sunday market. Beyond it come McLeod Bay, Reotahi, Taurikura and Urquharts Bay on the sheltered harbour side, and finally Ocean Beach on the open Pacific. A side road leads out to Pātaua and its footbridge across the estuary. Each bay has its own character, and locals will tell you firmly which one is best.
Harbour side or ocean side
This is the first real choice. The harbour bays are calm and sheltered, good for young children, kayaks and small boats, and McLeod Bay in particular is a family favourite for swimming beneath Mt Manaia. Ocean Beach is the opposite: a long sweep of sand, dunes and proper surf. Surf lifeguards patrol it in summer and the rips can be strong, so swim between the flags. Many people who live at the Heads use both, the harbour for the everyday swim and the ocean for the big days.
The walks on your doorstep
Few places in Northland pack in as much walking. Mt Manaia is the famous one, about a thousand steps through native bush to a 420-metre summit and a view over the whole harbour, around two hours return. The Smugglers Bay loop from Urquharts Bay takes about an hour and a half and passes a Second World War gun emplacement on the way to a white-sand beach. For a full day, the Te Whara Track follows an ancient Māori trail over the 476-metre summit of Bream Head, between Urquharts Bay and Ocean Beach. It takes five to six hours, and the forest it crosses is home to kiwi.
Parua Bay, the village
Day to day, Parua Bay is what makes living out here practical. The tavern sits right on the water, there is good coffee in the village, and the Sunday morning market behind the community centre is where you catch up with everyone. The Heads has two primary schools, Parua Bay School and Whangārei Heads School, and older students travel into Whangārei for high school. For the big shop, the hospital or a hardware store you drive to town, and most households simply plan their week around it.
What to know before you buy
Property at the Heads is varied and there is never much of it for sale at once. You will find original baches, family homes on the flat and newer houses on the hills above the bays, often on the same stretch of road. Services differ from one property to the next, so check whether a home is connected to council water and wastewater or relies on tanks and its own system. Look hard at the things salt air works on, such as roofing, joinery and decks. Ask about the driveway and the slope if the site is steep. And be honest with yourself about the drive. There is one road in and out, and doing it twice a day is different from doing it on a sunny Sunday.
Holiday home or full-time?
The Heads has always had both. Interest in the area climbs every summer, when people who have holidayed here for years decide they want a place of their own, and that is when the best homes attract the most competition. If you plan to live here permanently, look at the house in winter terms too: sun, shelter from the wind, heating, and how far you are from the people and services you rely on. If you are buying a bach, think about who looks after it when you are not there.
Thinking about a move to the Heads?
I sell homes from Whangārei to Mangawhai with Arizto Real Estate. If the Heads is on your list, I am happy to talk through the different bays and which one suits what you are after. You can compare it with the city in my guide to the best suburbs in Whangārei, or see what I have available on my houses for sale in Whangārei page. If you already own out here and are wondering what your place is worth, I offer a free, no-obligation appraisal, and with my $0 upfront, No Sale No Fee approach you don’t pay a cent until your home actually sells. Call or text me on 022 465 9330 or request your free appraisal online.