Need a giant sandpit to dig your toes into? Stanmore Bay has that majestic, endless feel you need…read morewhen life has dealt you a few too many stress blows. The nicest sand around, beautiful waves, breathtaking wind and nice cliffs welcome you into the bay. It's got a decent amount of grass to play around in if you don't want to get too sandy, but mainly this beach will appeal for the fact you can walk on it without having your toes attacked by shells. (this is the downside of most beaches out east, and the upside of the north) Aside from being utterly wonderful beach, this place is the illustrious Whangaparoa. Snowplanet anyone?

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!…read more Discovered this park the other day with my one year old son. I can't believe the amount of times I have driven by and not stopped for a closer look!! Duck feeding - yes Picnic friendly - yes Fully equipped modern playground - yes Sherwood reserve is expansive and connects to Freyburg Park off Anzac Road. If you are keen on a family picnic and/or outing to the playground with the kids but don't want to deal with tlhe crowds that Browns Bay has, this is a MUST VISIT!!

Gorgeous reserve. I use the walkway that runs through it from time to time and I love the scenery…read moreand the huge fresh grassy patches. The pathway that winds down and around is perfect for a bit of bike riding or skating down. Just don't do what I did and jump off your board on a downward slope... I had to watch in horror as my skateboard took a dive into the stream! There's a block of shops at the top of the reserve with a dairy and there's also a playground up top. Great spot for a slow Sunday stroll.

Matakana Country Park is a great place to take the kids; there is SO much for them to do. The…read moreanimal farm is always a winner (and if not an experience at least!). It's free entry and then for $3 you can buy a little bag of nibbles to feed the animals. There are sheep, goats, an emu, a very big pig and even llamas. There are also pony rides (so cute) and train rides. When they tire of the animals there's a large colourful playground complete with a giant Buzzy Bee, Nemo and a pirate ship. It can be pretty hard to pull them away from the playground, but you can always entice them off with a fluffy and piece of cake from the 'Speckled Hen Café' on site also.

Just had a bite at Catalina and need to walk the dog so I meandered over through the park and to…read morethe playground. What a great space with its cool climbing structures that look like pieces of sculpture art and are loads of fun for the kids to play on. This will be an anchor in the new community that is going to include hundreds of new houses and schools. The playground is surrounded by native plantings and wide open spaces with shady trees. This playground and surrounding park will form part of a coastal walk and cycleway.

Tahaki Reserve is a park I have spent countless hours playing in over the years. Located on the…read moreside of Mt Eden, this park boasts a pretty good playground, flying fox, mini amphitheatre where movies and gigs are often held and nice grounds for a picnic. I admit the flying fox used to be my favourite aspect of Tahaki Reserve - it was an old wooden one that you held on to, not like the ones you sit on now - and we used to where our rollerblades at the same time. You can imagine the fun we had! Zooming off on the flying fox, only to put your feet down at the end and keep going on your rollerblades! Needless to say I grazed many a knee at Tahaki Reserve when I was younger, and even had the privilege of kicking the top off my toe there - but the fact that it remains one of my favourite parks is testament to how nice it is there. Though I no longer run amuck around the playground, I still enjoy picnic dinners in Tahaki Reserve. Taking hot Chinese takeaways and sitting on the wee stage in the top corner of the park is a pretty nice way to spend an evening with your partner, or group of friends, not to mention it's perfect for midday picnics with the family and a friendly game of Frisbee! Tip: Tahaki Reserve also hosts full moon parties on occasion - a whole lot of free-spirited people gather in the park and party the night away - it's pretty cool!

Since moving to Newmarket I've been at a loss for where I can exercise outside comfortably - that…read morewas, until my partner introduced me to Tahaki Reserve. It's an expansive, nicely sheltered park on the side of Mount Eden that's also easy to get to & from. A quick walk here ensures I've got plenty of fun, physical things to do; from braving the Flying Fox, hill sprints up a refreshingly even paved path, cartwheels along the lush grass fields, hopping onto the adult-friendly swings, testing my metal on the small merry-go round, hanging on the monkey bars and even playing a quick game of tic tac toe! My partner and I spent hours here enjoying the sun and revelling in the opportunity to have fun whilst getting fit. I got to embrace my inner child in a perfectly lovely environment that I'll be sure to visit regularly from now on. Afterwards, due to the great location, it was all to easy for us to stroll past a dairy for a sneaky ice cream in celebration of our favourite new park. I recommend Tahaki Reserve to both adults and children, there's something's for everyone to enjoy.

Pretty cool park with a neat little road track with stop signs and stuff for kids (and some adults)…read moreto learn the road rules, and a funky swing that looks like something out of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. And... A ridiculously steep slide!!! Check out my pics and read the tip on this one, you're gonna need it... I can hear you shiver with antici - - - - pation!

The park is clean and the playground is super duper exciting with a huge climbing structure made of…read morerope. More for the advanced of young climbers, 8 years and up. There's a two person swing which again should only be attempted by the agile and sober...and preferably of the smaller in stature and of similar sizes. The park is clean with well kept gardens. The toilets are on an electronic release and subjected to vandalism. It would pay to bring your own disinfectant wipes but there is toilet paper and the hand dryers are working! Bonus! The park benches are under luscious green trees which provide cool shade which was welcome respite on a hot day like today. Best not to hang around after dark. Best not to park your freedom camper nearby either. The area can be a bit rough. Other than that, enjoy! Other than that, it's a blast!

Great location and views! Easily accessible from the top of Oneroa via a path! Highly recommended!read more

By far, Oneroa Beach was my favorite beach from all the beach-hopping I did on Waiheke Island…read more Oneroa Beach is almost like an island itself; small, but a haven of seafood creatures--endless amounts of mussels still on their beds, oysters, sea snails, Kina's, to name a few. Sadly, I came on Christmas day (when everything is closed) but I don't doubt that a seafood meal at a nearby restaurant is fresh and local at all! There is also a small, cute cave that is just filled with seashells. It was at Oneroa where I discovered Kina's (sea urchins) and got to yak on a few of them, thanks to a humble Maori and his family who were digging them out from under the rocks. I don't think I've ever had seafood on premise, but it was really fresh and incredibly kind of him to get these pointy things out while stepping on those painful surfaces of rocks and showing us how to eat the eggs. There are lots of rocks and seashells on this beach--it almost feels as if this beach has been abandoned and is waiting to be rediscovered. You'll be mesmerized once you step foot on this beach, even if you're not expecting to see much, there is lots to see! What I really enjoyed and grasped from Oneroa Beach was that it felt like a beach that locals go to, and is probably one of the more underrated beaches on the island. It's also a lot cleaner and the views from the road (especially from the stairway) are breathtaking. And to think I almost didn't want to come because I was lazy to transfer buses!

This has to be one of the busiest beaches during the summer months! And it's pretty obvious why…read more The beach itself is absolutely beautiful. The water is clear and crisp and the sand is squeaky clean... it actually squeaks sometimes when you rub your feet in it! This is a great beach for the family as more often that not there are little waves, which make for some fun boogie boarding or body surfing. As Jacob said it's not often that there's real surf-able waves here but when the east coast swell gets up and hits at the right angle you might be in for a treat. There are some awesome rock pools to explore and a hill to climb which gives you a great look out over the bay. But be careful! I once saw a group of young kids get washed along the rocks as a set wave rolled in. Make sure you accompany your kids and only go exploring if there aren't big waves and the tide's not too high!

Beautiful Anchor Bay is a day trip spent perfectly in one of our regions golden treasures…read more I spent Easter Sunday here with my son and partner, we arrived not too long after lunch, and the car park close by was already packed to maximum capacity. A short walk down to the beach via the beach path and we found a lovely patch of sand with our name on it. I spent my time here swimming in the beautiful clean cool ocean, body surfing waves, and sun tanning. I recommend if you're not too relaxed to take a walk down the beach towards the rock pools which fill up and explore a deep human sized rock pool that you can dive bomb into! Sublime. The little kids will enjoy running about the rock pools and soaking in them, or searching for the little and big crabs that call it their home. The oceans out beyond the bay are protected as a marine reserve so the fish/sea creatures are happy and you won't see a fisherman in this regional park area. I love the peace I feel at Anchor Bay and always cherish my time here.