Whitianga

Built around the sheltered waters of Whitianga Harbour, Whitianga grew into the principal town on the eastern Coromandel Peninsula. It faces Mercury Bay, a broad Pacific inlet whose beaches and boating waters shape the life of the settlement, while the harbour leads inland through tidal waterways. Māori communities lived in Te Whanganui-a-Hei long before European arrival. In 1769, James Cook’s Endeavour anchored in Mercury Bay, where the expedition observed the transit of Mercury and gave the bay its English name. The wider coast includes Hot Water Beach and the sea-carved Cathedral Cove. See how Whitianga connects with Mercury Bay and the Coromandel coast by browsing webcams nearby.

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