Te Pare Historic Reserve

A short, well-constructed DoC walking track starts at the end of Pa Road and passes through a grove of very large ancient Pohutakawa trees before emerging on grasslands and climbing up to the top of the headland which is a historic Maori Pa site (Hereheretaura Pa). A side track in the Pohutakawa trees leads down to a staircase onto the extreme southern end of Hahei beach, a section of the beach often cut-off at high tide. The remains of a defensive ditch, terraces, storage pits and middens (heaps of shells) are still visible. The view is spectacular and includes a look back at Hahei Beach and the town, the coastline both north towards Cathedral Cove and south towards the Alderman Islands as well as a view of Mercury Bay and the various islands in the bay. There are some stairs and a short climb but it is an easy walk overall. A second Pa site (Hahei Pa) is above the track. A former track up towards the Pa site is still visible but not maintained. Note that the area is surrounded by high cliffs so one needs to be careful and not get too close to the edge.