Map of Parakai

Parakai is a close neighbour to Helensville and offers a range of exciting activities that belies its quiet rural setting.

Visitors can relax in the area's hotpools or enjoy an exhilarating adventure with a flying lesson or take part in a sky dive above Parakai Airfield. During a skydive you'll see the rugged west coast beaches stretching all the way to South Head and if you look in the other directions you'll see Auckland city and the magnificent Pacific Ocean.

For a more relaxing time there is the wonderful Parakai Recreation Reserve that is situated in the heart of Parakai and comprises of around 18.27 hectares of peace and tranquility.

However, the western part of the reserve has been developed over more than 100 years to offer visitors recreational facilities such as the popular Parakai Springs complex. It's just awesome.

History lovers will enjoy Parakai too. It's unusual name is an anagram of the area's nearby Kaipara Harbour and Kaipara River. The first European settler was Charles Fordyce and he moved to the area in 1875. More than 30 years later Parakai got its first taste of tourism when, in 1908, the area's first boarding house opened.

Parakai may be small, but it is perfectly formed - there are some super places to stay, you can enjoy a bite to eat and set your own level of relaxation and adventure.

Things to see and do

• Skydiving

• Hot pools

• Recreational reserve

• Accommodation

• Horse trekking