"I'm over the moon," fours skip Ray Anderson said after the game.
"We made the semifinals once before but this is the first time we have made, and won, the final."
Anderson, who has been playing bowls for 38 years, played two telling shots that led to two fours and turned the game around when Wakari was on the back foot against a strong North East Valley team.
After 10 of the 18 ends, North East Valley led 13-6 and it was still in front 15-10 after 13 ends.
On the next two ends Anderson played two shots that won the game.
On the 14th end he drove out a North East Valley bowl to take four shots and, on the next end, he took a shot with his last bowl for four shots and the lead 18-15.
The Wakari four of Emrys Parry, Jimmy Cargill, Bryan Williamson and Anderson beat Colin Wheeler, Peter Unkovich, Greg Cash and Terry Scott 20-17 to claim the team win.
Parry played accurate lead bowls and his bowl was the shot on the final end when his team needed three to win.
Cargill at second and the experienced Williamson at third put in the foundation bowls.
It was a day of upsets, with the unheralded Wakari combination of Geoff Purdon and Nigel Birkbeck outclassing the international North East Valley combination of Mark Watt and Jim Scott 26-6 in the pairs.
Shaun Scott beat former World Bowls representative Paul Girdler 21-17 in the singles, to give North East Valley its only win.
Wakari advances to the regional finals in Central Otago at the end of February.
The women's final also went down to the wire, Andersons Bay winning 2-1, after a dramatic pairs game.
The Anderson Bay combination of Sonia Sinclair and Gloria Shine came from behind to beat Daphne Hynes and Carolyn Crawford (St Clair) 19-18 with a single on the last end.
St Clair looked to have the game sewn up when it led 18-9 after 13 of the 18 ends.
But Shine refused to concede the game.
Andersons Bay scored one, three, one and four on the next four ends to draw level at 18-18 after 17 ends.
On the last end St Clair had three shots on the head before Shine drew the shot with her last bowl to win the game.
Tongan international Malia Ellison (Andersons Bay) beat Ann Curtis (St Clair) 21-15 in the singles.
When the fours was called off three ends early, because Andersons Bay could not be beaten after wins in the singles and pairs, the St Clair team of Karen Lobb, Bev Knox, Trish Marr and Jan van Zanten was leading Lorraine Hobcraft, Tass Burton, Lorraine Swanson and Lyn Bevin (Andersons Bay) 16-11.
Andersons Bay will represent Bowls Dunedin in the women's regional finals at Timaru at the end of February.
In the men's division two, North East Valley beat Taieri 4-2.
In the women's division two, North East Valley beat Outram 6-0.
