Tamaki Drive
| Tamaki Drive | |
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| Route information | |
| Length: | 5.1 mi (8.2 km) |
| Existed: | 1932 – present |
| Location | |
| Districts: | Orākei, Mission Bay, Kohimarama, Saint Heliers |
Tamaki Drive is the coastal road which follows the contours of the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand. The road links the suburbs Orākei, Mission Bay, and Kohimarama ending in Saint Heliers providing easy access to the local beaches. Tamaki Drive was completed in 1932 and incorporates The Strand, Bice Esplanade and, what was once part of the old Kohimarama Road. It is also referred to as the Waterfront Road. Tamaki Drive is a flat road around 8 km (5 miles) long and popular with walkers, runners and roller skaters, and includes a dedicated cycle lane. Those travelling along Tamaki Drive can find scenic highlights and peaceful views across the harbour to the volcanic island Rangitoto. The cliffs backing onto Tamaki Drive are made of Waitemata Sandstone strata clothed in places with pōhutukawa. These trees seem to flower out of season, because these are actually Kermadec pōhutukawa with small distinctive roundish leaves.
The first Māori to settle on the foreshore found rich natural resources in and around the Waitematā Harbour, especially seafood. The seasonal fishing grounds brought many Māori here to fish, trade and socialise, making it a very desirable location, worth defending. Māori recognised early the strategic significance of Takaparawhau (Bastion Point), the cliff between Ōkahu Bay and Mission Bay with its panoramic outlook over the Waitematā Harbour.
Māori gave the area the name Tāmaki Makau Rau, meaning the isthmus desired by hundred lovers, this area is now encompassed by the City of Auckland. The name Tamaki Drive has since been given to the road which follows the coastline of the southern shore of the Harbour. At the time when Europeans began to establish homes in the Auckland area, the Māori tribe (iwi), Ngāti Whātua o Orākei controlled the area, with Ōkahu Bay serving as a key site, overlooked by Takaparawhau. Ngāti Whātua continue to hold traditional authority (mana whenua) over this part of Auckland.
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