Insider’s Guide to Oākura
It has been called the Banana Belt of Taranaki because, tucked behind the Kaitake Range and sheltered from the wild south-easterly wind, Oākura has its own microclimate. People who move to Oākura from around the coast towards Ōpunake are surprised how easily their garden grows without south, or south-east winds. The mountain also provides shelter and some days the ocean can be calm in Oākura, yet beyond the wind shadow furious whitecaps dot the blue sea out to the horizon. In a strange Venturi effect when the wind wraps around Mt Taranaki, it sometimes is light easterly at the New Plymouth end of Oākura beach and westerly at the other end.
The black-sand beach of Oākura is one of a few beaches
