Whitford is a small coastal village that lays to the east of Auckland city and approx 8 kms from Howick Village. It is basically a rural setting of lifestyle blocks now. In the early years it was predominantly a dairy farming area, but the farmers have mostly left the area now and most farms have had some degree of subdivision.

The township of Whitford has three estuaries within its boundaries.
Approaching Whitford from the west we have the Mangemangeroa River and gorge, which is the natural divider between Howick and Whitford regions.
Continuing through to the centre of the township, we have the Turanga River which was and still is, the main waterway entry to the village. This river has a large catchment area extending way back to the hills of Whitford and Brookby, in the south. 

The Turanga river and the Mangemangeroa river eventually join up at Shelley Park and flow out to the Waitemata Harbour, passing out past the cockle beds at Cockle Bay Beach and shelf beds of the Whitford Embayment. 

On the eastern side heading towards Beachlands/Maraetai, we have the Waikopua river, which flows from the eastern hills directly into the wider Whitford Embayment area, which also has Pine Harbour marina located on its coastline. The tidal flats of the Whitford Embayment are a very important part of the ecological system with an abundance of shellfish, fish and bird life.
All of the rivers are tidal and both Turanga and Waikopua also have low lying uninhabited islands within the river ways.