Parengarenga Harbour is a natural harbour close to the northernmost point on the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Located at the northern end of the Aupouri Peninsula

Aupouri Peninsula

The Aupouri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east...

, it extends inland for over 10 kilometres, almost severing the northern tip of the island from the rest of the peninsula. The island's northernmost point, at the Surville Cliffs

Surville Cliffs

The Surville Cliffs are the northernmost point of the mainland of New Zealand. They are situated on the North Cape of the North Island, 30 kilometres to the east of Cape Reinga , and three kilometres more northerly...

 is only about 10 kilometres north of the harbour. Te Hapua

Te Hapua

Te Hapua is a community on the shores of the Parengarenga Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. The road to Te Hapua leaves State Highway 1 at Waitiki Landing.Te Hapua is the most northerly settlement in the North Island of New Zealand....

 is a settlement at the western side of the harbour.

The brilliantly white sand of Kokota Sandspit, at the southern head of Parengarenga Harbour, has provided a source of high purity silica sand for glassmaking. Dredging continued here until 1997. While smaller or lower purity deposits are found elsewhere in Northland, the Parengarenga area holds the region's largest silica sand resource by far.