Wharewaka
Wharewaka is a suburb of Taupō, New Zealand. It stretches from Rainbow Point to Five Mile Bay on the west side of New Zealand [State Highway 1|State Highway 1]. Wharewaka lies on a small point of land next to Lake Taupō and 1.6 km northwest of the Taupō Airport.
Wharewaka has a large proportion of holiday homes. Recent developments such as the Wharewaka Point Development and the Lakeside development have seen a rise in population.
Wharewaka Point is a busy swimming beach during the summer. It is popular with tourists and locals alike.
Wharewaka is also the location of the Summerset retirement village.
After an M5.7 earthquake on 30 November 2022, 170 metres of the shoreline at Wharewaka Point collapsed into the lake.
Demographics
Wharewaka covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.Wharewaka had a population of 1,614 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 675 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 900 people since the 2013 census. There were 774 males and 840 females in 663 dwellings. 2.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 52.2 years. There were 258 people aged under 15 years, 153 aged 15 to 29, 651 aged 30 to 64, and 549 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 87.4% European ; 10.6% Māori; 2.2% Pasifika; 8.0% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 3.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.6%, Māori by 2.8%, and other languages by 8.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.9%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 34.9% Christian, 2.2% Hindu, 0.2% Islam, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, and 1.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 51.1%, and 8.9% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 318 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 744 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 288 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $40,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 210 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 573 full-time, 174 part-time, and 18 unemployed.