Bream Head Māori:Te Whara | |
|---|---|
 Bream Head and surrounding islands viewed from neighbouringMt Manaia | |
.svg)  Bream Head | |
| Coordinates:35°51′15″S174°35′29″E / 35.85426°S 174.59132°E /-35.85426; 174.59132 | |
| Location | Northland,New Zealand |
| Offshore water bodies | Southern Pacific Ocean |
| Volcanic field | Taurikura volcanic complex |
| Last eruption | 19.1 million years ago |
Bream Head is a promontory on the east coast ofNorthland in theNorth Island ofNew Zealand. Located at the end of a 30 kilometre-long peninsula, the head juts into thePacific Ocean to the southeast ofWhangārei. The Te Whara Track in the Bream Head Scenic Reserve is at least 700 years old.[1] TheHen and Chicken Islands are located off the headland at a distance of 12 kilometres. It forms the northern extremity ofBream Bay, and guards the entrance toWhangārei Harbour, a natural inlet extending to the northwest. TheMarsden Point Oil Refinery is located on the opposing shore of the harbour five kilometres to the west.
To Bream Head's immediate north is a long sandy beach calledOcean Beach.
It contains a scenic reserve, the Bream Head Scenic Reserve, which unlike Bream Head is an official name.[2] This has a long history ofMāori occupation, being nowwāhi tapu, and is one of the most important coastal broadleaf forest reserves in Northland with its population ofnative flax snail – pūpūharakeke[1] andWhirinaki skinks.[3]
Bream Head features a prominent bluff usually known by the same name or Te Whara 476 metres (1,562 ft) in height,[4] and to its west Mount Lion at a height of 395 metres (1,296 ft), the remains of aMiocene andesitic volcano.
