 thumb|right|location of whangaparaoa peninsula thumb|right|in recent decades, the peninsula has been heavily suburbanised. thumb|right|tindalls beach in late winter whangaparaoa peninsula is a suburban area about 25&nbsp;km north of auckland in new zealand. it had 22,788 residents in 2006, many of them in the eponymous town of whangaparaoa on its southern side. it is part of the hibiscus coast. ==geography== the peninsula is in the northern north island, close to the base of the north auckland peninsula. whangaparÄoa is mÄori for "bay of whales", and pods of orca and dolphin are regularly spotted in the waters off the peninsula. the peninsula is increasingly urbanised and is in the northern auckland zone of the auckland urban area, as defined by statistics new zealand. proposals mooted in 2006, when it was part of the rodney district, would have seen it absorbed into north shore city. since 2010, it has been part of the albany ward of the auckland region. until relatively recently a sparsely inhabited rural area, it is now seen as something of a retreat for the more retired members of auckland society, the city lying 25 kilometres to the south. this is particularly true of the resort of gulf harbour, four kilometres from the tip of the peninsula. classification of this area as predominantly "metro 1" by the auckland regional council caused sharp rates rises recently, causing outcry among residents. auckland's northern motorway (state highway one) was extended to orewa at the end of the 1990s, reducing journey time into the city and making it more popular for commuters. the proposed penlink road (including a bridge over the wade river from stanmore bay to stillwater) would provide a quicker route between the peninsula and central auckland. the peninsula stretches east for 11 kilometres into the hauraki gulf, to the north of east coast bays. tiritiri matangi island is three kilometres off its eastern tip. the town of whangaparaoa is on the southwestern shore, and is regarded as the start of the hibiscus coast. communities include red beach, stanmore bay, big manly, tindalls beach, army bay, gulf harbour, matakatia, little manly, and arkles bay. at the end of the peninsula is shakespear regional park. the new zealand defence force owns part of this area, which has been used as a resettlement cam
Peninsulas_of_New_Zealand Rodney_District Suburbs_of_Auckland