Whatipu is a remote beach on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand.

[2] Major features of Whatipu include Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock and Paratutae Island, which are remnants of the Miocene era Waitākere Volcano.

[2] From the 1930s to the 1960s, sandy material began accumulating at Whatipu, creating a 1.5 km strip of sand, where plants and fresh water swamps developed.

[2] The Whatipu area is predominantly an Exposed Coastal Ecosystem, dominated by sand dunes and pōhutukawa trees, as well as saltspray tolerant species such as Urostemon kirkii, taupata, Veronica obtusata and horokaka.

[7] Textile remains such as fishing nets, baskets, cloak fragments were collected from four archeological sites in the area in the early 1900s: one at Whatipu and three on Paratutae Island to the south east.

[9] HMS Orpheus ran aground just inside the Manukau Harbour entrance south of Whatipu in 1863 with the loss of 189 lives.

In March 1854 they purchased land in the Waitakeres and started a large timber milling operation in Whatipu and the wider area that would last until the 1870s.

[14] In the latter 19th century, Whatipu was used as black market port, where perfume, spirits and tobacco were smuggled into New Zealand.

Follows Kura Track eastwards alongside the stream through bush, then climbs steeply to Puriri Ridge and the Whatipu Road.

Back via Omanawanui Track, a switchback ridge in open bush with views across the Manukau Harbour and the Whatipu valley to the west coast.