Te Henga Bethells Beach

Te Henga/Bethell's Beach is a rugged West Coast Regional Park and Surf beach, 45-minutes drive from Auckland CBD.

The beach is great for surfers and enjoyed by families. However, the surf can be dangerous, so we recommend swimming in summer when surf life savers are on patrol (always swim inside the flags).

All year round, Te Henga is a great place for outdoor walks and exploration. There is a walking track along the ridge of the hills behind the beach provides a stunning vista of the coastline. Erangi Point at the beach's northern end has a sea tunnel and there is a cave and exposed pillow lava at the Southern end. Take caution of the tides, rouge waves and slippery rocks.

'Te Henga' simply means sand, and this correct and official name was reinstated in 1976. Renouned for being black, Te Henga sand is of volcanic origin, but not from the Auckland Volcanic Field, which formed the land here. The black titanomagnetite arrived via coastal drift from the Taranaki volcano, this process having taken many thousands of years. The relating geological processes have resulted in three impounded lakes. They are called Lake Wainamu, Kawaupaka and Waiataru. Wainamu offers a one-hour walking track, cascading waterfalls, and great sand dunes for boogie-boarding down.

At the south end of the beach, evidence of the Auckland Volcanic Field is in plain view, by way of rocks called Pillow Lava. The formations here also include a large sea cave. However there are dangers here, high tide, rogue waves, and slippery algae on rocks, so caution is requires. There are further examples of the same south of Muriwai at Pillow Lava Bay. Also interesting but still more dangerous in terms of tides, is the north end of the beach, featuring Erangi Point iwth it's sea tunnel, and Kauwahaia and Ihumoana Islands. A safe option is to view from the Te Henga Walkway (north) on the clifftops above.

After Auckland Council returned a slice of land in 2018, Te Kawerau a Maki began to build a base here called Te Henga Marae and papakainga, a continuation of Maori occupation which dates back an estimated 1000 years. There are some pa sites.

The interruption of occupation came from Pakeha settlers clearing the land here, starting in 1854, the Bethell family were the primary farming family, and owned a lot of land, but they have been locked in legal scraps since the last patriarch passed in the 1980s. They are noted, however for conservation efforts and protecting the area from development.

With its awe-striking scenery it's no surprise that the Auckland West coast is a popular film location. Te Henga was a prominent location in the 1990s television series ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and more recently featured in a Taylor Swift music video. Palme d’Or winning New Zealand drama ‘The Piano’ (1993) was filmed in very similar scenery, a few beaches down the coast at Karekare.

This beach is famous for beautiful sunsets, and also for being a bit wild, and in 2019 added another weird tale was added to the list. Three million dollars worth of class A substance, Cocaine, washed up there, presumed to have been jettisoned from a cargo destined for Australia.

PRIVATE TOUR OF BETHELLS LAKE AND BEACH FROM AUCKLAND