If you’re looking for some great reasons to live in Papakura and surrounding areas, well, you honestly probably haven’t been down here for some time. But just so you’re up to date and informed on how great this place is to live, checkout the following great reasons.
1) You’re Still Very Close To The Country
You are close to the countryside with only a 5 minutes drive either West, East or South. This part of Auckland is well renown for its equestrian activities, with a polo field on the outskirts of Clevedon and the Karaka sales yards where they run auctions for thoroughbred racing horses.
Much of the rural land in and around Karaka, Clevedon and Takanini have long been used for equestrian and racing activities and there are often many equestrian events for Pony Club members run throughout the year attracting both young and old riders alike.
2) Walks
Living in Papakura, you are near to some fantastic walks; Clevedon Scenic Reserve has a couple of ‘energy taxing’ tracks to really test your fitness. Park your car in Camp Sladdin off Thorpes Quarry Road, and follow the path.
Allow 30 minutes minimum to the top (the views are worth it). Hunua Falls offers a variety of walking tracks that can take as little as 10 minutes to around 3 hours depending on your level of fitness
Duder’s Regional Park has several walking tracks (over grassy fields) that offer some of the best views in the world (Make sure you pick a sunny day to do this, as the views will take your breath away)
The Botanical Gardens and Totara Park also offer a wide range of walks through the botanicals as well as an abundance bush walks that cater to most levels of fitness.
You can also enjoy the new boardwalk around the shoreline of Pahurehure in Papakura starting from opposite Ray Small Park, or perhaps take a jaunt around the coastal walkway at Conifer Grove that will reveal to you some stunning homes you never knew existed.
3) New Developments
With the new Auckland City Council Unitary Plan, Papakura is being firmly put on the Auckland map. The central Papakura Business District is thriving and undergoing ongoing rejuvenation. There are multi story apartment blocks being built and planned. There are also regular Papakura beautification projects underway with the Local Lions Club.
There are new retail and service developments being planned and built in Drury, Takanini and Karaka. You are spoilt for choice when it comes to Banks, Supermarkets, Department Stores, small retail shops, large scale home improvement shops, and Papakura also boasts a very new high-quality District Medical Centre.
The coffee shops, restaurants and cafes in and around Papakura are second to none in Auckland. Award-winning café’s, even a winery or two and ethnic restaurants are worth traveling to Papakura for. John Hill winery (near Hunua) also does an awesome lunch and they also make their own wines.
Strawberry lovers are also spoilt for choice with a number of Strawberry growers in the area open about 4-5 months of the year with sales direct to the public. Many also do the mandatory strawberry ice cream in a cone.
4) Nearby Farmers Markets
The Clevedon Sunday morning markets are awesome for the food lover who likes to try out artisan type foods and products. This market has a very loyal strong following and it pays to get there early in order to get a carpark.
They open from 8:30am till 1:00pm and then its worthwhile taking a wander around the cute Clevedon Village shops afterwards. Make sure you stop off at the Clevedon Fish and Chip shop for some of the best Fish and Chips in the country.
5) Affordable Real Estate
Beautiful and affordable housing. Sure Papakura gets a bad rap from time to time, but on a whole the people in Papakura are real, down to earth and are as proud of their homes as anyone else in New Zealand. The areas of Karaka Lakes and Karaka Harbourside offer some of the most spectacular waterfront or waterside homes available in Auckland as well as a good selection of new and near new homes built by reputable building companies.
Many of these homes can rival those from the more affluent areas of Auckland, and you could probably afford one of these Karaka houses and still have change leftover for other pursuits or hobbies, and without the hefty mortgage.
The same could be said for some of the more humble areas of Papakura with some fantastic quality built 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s era built homes.
Check out the areas of Pahurehure and Opaheke. These are the two suburbs within Papakura that are considered highly desirable by the locals, and you can still buy amazing 3, or 4 bedroom redecorated 70’s style homes in one of these areas often for around $700,000 – $800,000 and usually also have a decent sized full site of 650m2 to 1000m2 in size.
Papakura also offers the first home buyer the real chance to crack into their first home. Unlike other Auckland suburbs, anyone prepared to make the sacrifices that often come with owning a first home (scrimping, saving, going without) can usually buy a solid 3 bedroom first home that may require a bit of sweat equity on a piece of land for not a lot more than $500,000. Try finding that in central Auckland, or the North Shore.
6) Great Public Transport
Public transport to and from Papakura to the City is regular and reliable. The train service is electrified and so the journey to Newmarket from Papakura is comfortable and air-conditioned and takes roughly 45 minutes.
And with plenty of parking options around the Papakura Train station, there’s no longer any reason to ‘blow a fuse’ in the congestion on the Auckland Motorway.
The Papakura bus services also service the local Papakura suburban areas as well as also provide connected services to the City.
A recent announcement of a passenger train service between Hamilton and Papakura will add further interest in Papakura as a central hub.
7) New Housing Subdivisions
There is massive development of new subdivision both planned and happening in and around Papakura and surrounding areas. The number of new housing subdivisions underway or planned for areas like Paerata Rise, Kingseat, Karaka, Clevedon, Auranga and Drury will add a considerable number of new homes and people to the area.
There is large scale industrial development planned for the Drury area that is going to add a significant number of jobs to the market. Therefore anyone looking for job opportunities and affordable quality housing should consider moving to Papakura and the surrounding areas.
8) Easy Motorway Access
Papakura is as handy to the motorway as it gets, unlike many other Auckland suburbs where you have to drive for up to half an hour just to get to the motorway.
Also the Southern Motorway has recently been widened with additional lanes to free up the congestion. A car ride from Central Auckland to the Papakura off-ramp currently in off-peak times takes only 23 minutes (we’ve timed it) and when you consider how long it can take you sometimes to get from one inner-city location to another inner-city location, 23 minutes isn’t really that bad.
9) Plenty Of Things To Do
There are also a wide variety of attractions on offer within South Auckland and only a short drive from Papakura. Rainbows End for keeping the kidlets entertained. Butterfly Creek offers some nature enlightenment for the whole family.
Spookers provides a scary, blood-curdling experience, best enjoyed in the dark at its scariest. Visiting the Hunua Falls is also an experience to put on your bucket list.
On a warm sunny day, take a picnic basket and spend some time exploring. It’s a great day out. If you have time up your sleeve, you must visit the Vector Wero Whitewater Park in Manukau. This is where you can ride the rapids of a ‘man-made’ whitewater rafting course.
10) Pukekohe Is Just Down The Road
The thriving nearby township of Pukekohe with nearly 30,000 residents is a vibrant, and growing community that is only about 15 minutes drive from Papakura and offers great shopping, café’s, restaurants, entertainment, horse racing, and regular events. It’s easy to spend a day in Puke whiling away the time.
11) Beaches Galore
Beaches might be something you don’t associate with Papakura, however, there are quite a few beaches in and around Papakura and the wider Franklin area. Clarks Beach is probably the most notable on the inner Manuaku reaches of the Awhitu Peninsula.
Awhitu Peninsula also boasts a number of stunning ‘golden sandy’ beaches. Karioitahi Beach on the other side of the Peninsula is a long sandy beach with very few visitors and is perfect for letting your horse have an unrestricted gallop.
Visiting here can make you feel like you’re the only people in the world and yet its only a short drive from the township of Waiuku.
On the other coast, you have the beaches in and around the Kawakawa Coast (which is well worth the drive) and then heading back towards Clevedon and on towards Maraetai, you also have a couple of spots within Duders Regional Park and then the remote but calm Umupuia Beach and then several beautiful little bays on the way to Maraetai Beach.
12) Sporting Facilities
The sporting parks and facilities in and around Papakura are amazing. With Massey Park, you have a full ‘International’ style athletics track, a swimming pool complex, with both indoor and outdoor pools.
Bruce Pulman Park in Takanini is a very unique sporting facility that caters to a variety of sporting codes sitting on over 64 hectares from Rugby, Netball, Cricket, Gymnastic as well as a Recreational Centre.
And the brand new Golf course in Brookby that replaces the old Manukau Golf Course (that used to be on the edge of Conifer Grove and is now being developed into a new Fletchers Residential subdivision) is supposed to be one of the best.
Papakura is a very proud sporting community that is strong in many sporting codes including Rugby, Athletics, Bowls, Croquet and Equestrian to name but a few.
To Summarise
In summary, Papakura is a proud positive suburb. It is also a suburb that is re-inventing itself and on the threshold of some significant investment and development to make it into a thriving, vibrant and independent metropolitan hub within Auckland City. The times ahead for Papakura and its environs are exciting indeed, and anyone who chooses to make this location their future home will benefit in so many ways and will wonder why they never decided to make the change sooner. For local Papakura events, and happenings, check out our Facebook page ‘Love Papakura’