Port Waikato | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 A view overlooking the Port Waikato township | |
| Nickname: The Port | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 37°23′24″S 174°43′44″E / 37.390°S 174.729°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Waikato |
| District | Waikato District |
| Ward | Onewhero-Te Akau Ward |
| Community | Onewhero-Tuakau Community |
| Electorates | |
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Waikato District Council |
| • Regional council | Waikato Regional Council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.78 km2 (1.46 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2024)[2] | |
| • Total | 600 |
| • Density | 160/km2 (410/sq mi) |
Port Waikato is a New Zealand town that sits on the south bank of the Waikato River, at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in the northern Waikato.[3]
Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks and surf beach, and off the sand dunes that border the river mouth. Flounder and mullet are also plentiful using drag nets. Port Waikato is a location where sedimentary rock formations of 65–85 million years' antiquity are found,[4] and a Jurassic-period dinosaur fossil was found there.[5] Weathertop footage from the Lord of the Rings was filmed in limestone outcrops just south of the town.
The Port has a Wharf Store, established 1893, a take-away shop, café, campground, library, community hall, fire station, surf lifesaving club, yachting club and an active fishing club.[3] A school camp was established near the town in the 1920s, which boasts a well-formed BMX track. Port Waikato also serves as a popular wedding destination.[6]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Areawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Port Waikato". www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ "Kiwi fossil hunter's very big find". The New Zealand Herald. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Dinosaur hunter: Joan Wiffen". Stuff.co.nz. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Port Waikato School Camp". Port Waikato School Camp. Retrieved 10 July 2015.