Event Details

About Wharf2Wharf

Started in 1992 by the Waiheke Harriers for the benefit of the wider Waiheke community, Wharf2Wharf now incorporates 4 distances over different terrains, for runners and walkers, for summer fun & dedicated racers. With ambitions to exceed 1,000 participants in 2010, chip timing systems will be used to make this the best event ever! All proceeds from this annual event are distributed by Waiheke Rotary Club to assist local community organisations. Support by local businesses is a mainstay of the event, with great prizes and giveaways, including free photos of all participants. A central tenet is to do things the “Waiheke Way”, which makes for a fun-filled, relaxing day for competitors and supporters alike.

The enormous popularity of walking and running in pursuit of fitness, combined with the beautiful scenery and leisurely ambience of Waiheke Island, has seen participation levels increase from around 400 in the early years to over 800 in 2009. Continuing that trend, in 2010 the day will boast 8 run or walk events over 4 distances, with 3 start lines and 2 finish lines ~ with about 1,000 participants expected to enjoy a fun-filled day. Recognising that some things have to change, the organisers are introducing chip timing for the first time. But, in the true spirit of the “Waiheke Way”, cheering runners and walkers to the finish line will be local community groups, dressed in their best Waihekean finery, working the water stations. Post race entertainment provides a splendid picnic opportunity, enjoying local foods, listening to local musicians and performers on a wide grassy expanse overlooking Matiatia Bay. Now that’s the Waiheke Way!

Waiheke Island is a magical place to enjoy a day or two, with breathtaking scenery at every twist and turn of the race. Why not sail over on the Fun Run Ferry to share a slice of paradise?

About Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island is a small sub-tropical island in the Hauraki Gulf, an easy 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland in New Zealand. Tourism websites abound in details of the island’s attractions, particularly emphasising its beaches, vineyards and walkways. Year round the current population is nearly 8,000 residents, of which about one-quarter commute to Auckland city each day. Its unique location so close to the largest city in New Zealand means that at the height of the summer season, Waiheke’s population can swell to over 50,000 at weekends with visiting holidaymakers and families with baches dotted among the bush and around the beaches. Most of the permanent population lives close to the western end of the island in the villages of Ostend, Surfdale, Blackpool and Oneroa. Much of the eastern half of Waiheke Island ~ the “bottom end” ~ is privately owned farmland.

Socially the island is highly diverse. While it is renowned for its exclusive lifestyle settings for the rich and famous, the majority of residents have a median income of $23,500. More than 30% of households have single occupants; 45.9% of families are couples without children. There is a small mixed-iwi marae reflecting the small number of permanent Maori residents. Of those residents born overseas the majority originate from the United Kingdom and Europe. In the 1960s and 1970s, Waiheke became home to alternative, hippy lifestyles and this is reflected in the large numbers of artists, musicians, scientists, writers, poets and actors who reside there.

The burgeoning New Zealand wine industry spread to the island as the weather patterns and hills were found to produce good quality wines. The vineyards have gone on to develop niche restaurants. Kiwi families were also attracted to its location in the early years because of its ease of access to and from Auckland, and the ability to purchase cheap land and build baches, with little formal building controls. The sought after “freedom” of the island, while still an aspiration, is an allusion for it is regulated by a disparate City Council. The ready access to tramping tracks, kayaking and sailing as well as wide, clean beaches for swimming and picnics, sustains it as a desirable lifestyle option. Property has become expensive as a result, but affordable rental properties are available. There are a wide variety of accommodation businesses catering to summertime visitors.

Between its accessible and desirable location, its artistic community and its vineyards, Waiheke has developed a unique image or lifestyle brand that is reflected in real estate brochures and in tourism brochures. It is also reflected in the multitude of summertime events that are designed to draw in the daytime visitors from Auckland, as well as entertain the holidaymakers.
For more on Waiheke go to ~ www.tourismwaiheke.co.nz OR www.waihekenz.com