Discover Waiheke’s best wonders
Waiheke has many pockets of unique attractions scattered throughout the island. You will find unique artwork at both The Red Shed and Waiheke Community Art Gallery among others. These galleries rotate their artists so there is always a fresh, new, and exciting artistic perspective to gain from each piece. The island also has a colourful array of parks, each with distinctive features like a sculpture walk in Alison Park and wonderful bird life in Whakanewha National Park. If you are a history buff, then you can learn the secrets of the island at Waiheke’s museum. Make sure to visit the tunnels found on Stony Batter, where you can see the gun emplacements left from the 1940s. Let’s take a deep dive into each of these Waiheke attractions.
Electric Art is found in the galleries. These will inspire you!
Waiheke is home to some fantastic artistic ventures, with many art galleries set up for you to deliver your creative fix. Located in Palm Beach, The Red Shed Art Gallery is set up and run by local artists. This particular gallery rotates its artists and has up to 17 displayed work collections. The Red Shed Art Gallery seeks to support up-and-coming artists and they also offer workshops, so you too can learn some of the ropes for creating something new. You might even keep your creation as your very own Waiheke souvenir.
You will also find the Waiheke Community Art Gallery, situated in the pocket of Oneroa. This is a prestigious exhibition that has gotten attention from both the New York Times and Lonely Planet. Rock up to this showroom for some incredible pieces crafted by artists of all vocations. You name it: painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramicists, and jewelers– it’s all here.
Spend a day at one of the many parks on the island
Speaking of art, Alison Park will combine the two loves of nature and artistic expression in the form of sculptors. This is a wonderfully groomed garden park located near Oneroa. On the path, you will find many unique sculptors that greet you as you enjoy the great outdoors. A stunning view can be found overlooking Blackpool valley. Set up and have a lovely picnic here, in this hideaway nestled away from Waiheke’s main attractions. There are numerous scattered parks across Waiheke, they are ready for you to kick a ball around, have a picnic, or go exploring.
Blackpool Park is quite a large space with plenty of room to grab that picnic experience under it’s many shaded areas. You can reach the park by Rata Street or Nikau Road. Roadside parking is also conveniently available.
You will also notice that there is a Hall there, known as the Old Blackpool School Hall. If you have a specific event you want to hold, you can arrange to have it at this venue if you plan ahead.
For those after an experience in New Zealand’s famous outdoors, Whakanewha National Park is just around the corner. This park is home to a native forest with a hub of multiple tracks to walk along and submerge yourself in nature. There is a range of fantastic tracks to try. There’s one full-on track that will take you 2 and a half hours to complete. Bird spotting is key here and you might be lucky to spot a tui, kereru, or piwakawaka in their native habitat. If you loop around, then take the Poukaraka Pa path that traces along Gordon’s Road. The beach is great for swimming as much as it is a wonderful place to set up camp for a good old-fashioned picnic in the sun.
Seek out the island’s history with the Museums and Historic Village
Located in the very popular Onetangi suburb, there lies the Museum of Waiheke and Historical Village. Here, you will find an old woolshed that has now been adapted to house many of the main exhibits. The old woolshed was initially built in the 1920s but was burnt down, destroying all of its displays in the process. It was re-established in 1998 and is still operating today. Inside the museum, you will find numerous Maori artifacts, early settler wool, and timber objects as well as displays of domestic life in early Waiheke.
Have a look at Waiheke’s first jail. For 66 years it used to house offenders until they could be transported to the ferry. It’s small in stature and does not look like a place you would want to spend time thinking about your crimes in. But from today’s perspective, it’s well worth checking out.
Champion, Keane, and Goodwin are all baches that have old-fashioned rooms decked out to give you a little taste of what life was like back in pioneering Waiheke times. There are also immersive photo exhibits.
Don’t forget the Day Cottage that is available by appointment for groups or meetings for a venue. It used to be the original location for the museum. If you are keen to find out more about the island itself, it also holds Waiheke’s archives on the top floor.
Stony Batter Gun Emplacements
In the 1940s, tensions were rising that the war would spread to the pacific. There were specific fears of an invasion of Auckland by the Japanese Imperial Army. In an effort to defend the entrance to Auckland Harbour, gun emplacements were positioned at Stony Batter in addition to accommodation for a garrison of troops there. Stony Batter was chosen to be a top spot for attack and defense, as it is a sharp vantage point for looking out across the Hauraki Gulf. In short, it was a location that you could both hide and shoot from, effectively. Back in 1942, it took a staggering 200 men to create the 1.2 km tunnels that now still exist on Stony Batter. This operation was done in secret, but today we can shed some light on its vaulted history.
These tunnels are wondrous maze-like structures. During the time of 1942, they were home to two massive 9.2-inch guns. Stony Batter was decked out. It had a plotting room, an engine room, and many stairways to behold. As the guns were positioned in a secure manner, they could rotate 360 degrees if needed, making for practical ease when aiming at targets.
Today this intriguing labyrinth is open for visits so that tourists and residents alike can unravel the secrets of this truly unique historical spot. These chambers now stand as a relic from another time, they are chambers of a grim past that didn’t eventuate, a Waiheke attraction that is crystallized in time. Stony Batter emplacements were never needed and did not fulfill their use except for maybe a few test shots.
For 60 years the tunnels were abandoned and people would get many frights from boldly navigating this fortress by torchlight alone. Now it is home to a business that takes tours on a journey back in time. In the words of ‘Stony Batter Tunnels’ “This is an Architectural, Engineering, and Construction marvel”
Above these chambers, there are also more historical marvels to be had. The reserve itself is 50 acres and it is home to shocking 8-million-year-old boulders of andesite boulders that were scattered by volcanic activity long ago. You can stand awe-struck at these monumental structures from the past as you explore the more ‘off-the-beaten-track’ side of Waiheke. There is a popular walking track called Stony Batter Path that will have your 5000 steps covered on your hour and 20-minute walk. Follow along the reserve's marked trails and make sure to bring a picnic pack– because those views will be a glorious 360-degree sight for your eyes!