Titahi Bay and Porirua, New Zealand

Titahi Bay Home Exchange

Titahi Bay is an attractive horse-shoe-shaped bay, the first heading north on the rugged west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is the sea-side suburb of the small city of Porirua, and offers swimming, surfing, fishing, cliff walking, kayaking and mountain bike riding.

Below its sands are 90,000 year old fossilized tree stumps, part of an ancient forest, and which are frequently exposed at low tide.

Titahi Bay offers extensive sea views of the rocky northern coast of New Zealand's South Island 25 kms away, as well as historic Mana Island 5 km off shore, where sheep were  first farmed in New Zealand 200 years ago.

The island is now a wildlife sanctuary. The sheep were actually driven at low tide across 'The Bridge' to the island, but a major earthquake in 1855 dropped the level of the seabed, making this impossible.

The Bay was first privately developed at its northern end 100 years ago and then extensively given over to public housing in the early 1950s using hundreds of imported pre-fabricated houses erected by Austrian builders who came with the houses. Most men stayed.

From 1942 to 1945, the Bay hosted the 2nd Tank Battalion of the 2nd Div, US Marine Corps, part of the huge but friendly "invasion" of US Forces training in New Zealand for the Pacific war. Two of their buildings remain as a live theatre and a welfare centre.

A short 3 km journey takes you to Porirua, a thriving small city of 50,000 with its multi-ethnic, multi-cultural & multi-lingual community : a snapshot of New Zealand. It's a fine shopping centre with extensive retail shopping and a busy 2-level mall. It is also a vibrant cultural centre with a strong local Maori presence ; a library;  visual and performing arts venues; a new sports and aquatic centre; and camping grounds & motels. 

If you’d like to exchange your home with one in Titahi Bay, close to Porirua, please see our house description.

Loloma & Dave Read