You can walk for hours along the Harbourview Walkway and experience a variety of terrain. Parking…read moreis easy at Orangihina Park (465 Te Atatu Road). You can walk South or North from here. We went North. You immediately go through a tunnel of trees on a nice gravel and paved pathway, this walks by a number of storm catchment ponds with lush plant life. There are several beach areas including Harbor View Beach Reserve which has nice views toward Auckland City and some sea wall and boardwalks. Continuing north you go inland a bit from the sea with several nice grassy parks. At the northernmost part of the trail is the Whau West Walkway which traverses boardwalk areas over the marsh with yet more varieties of plant life. We did a 2.5 mile each way out and back and were glad we did this longer walk as the plant life and views changed quite a bit throughout the walk.

I stumbled across this great wee spot last time I was out West. Located off Te Atatu Road,…read moreHarborview is a park that boasts the most spectacular view of Auckland City. Despite growing up and living in Auckland, I'd never seen a view of the city like this. You could see everything from the North Shore and the Harbour Bridge, to the Skytower and high-rises and all the way out to Mt Albert, Point Chevalier and Blockhouse Bay. Unfortunately at the time I was there it was raining, but on a clear sunny day I can only imagine how much better the view would be. Despite the bad weather, when I was last there a wedding was taking place, and I couldn't help but appreciate how great the location was for such a special occasion. There is a little decked area that the ceremony was being held on, and while facing the bride and groom, the guests could also appreciate the brilliant view of the city. Definitely a good place to keep in mind if you're planning your big day and you're Auckland locals! Harbourview would also be a lovely place to park up and enjoy a picnic and run around with the kids.

The Waitakere ranges was one of the biggest draw cards for my husband and I to settling out West…read morewhen we moved here last year from Australia. The West of Auckland has a hit and miss reputation, but that is ok, so does Tasmania in Aus where we were living for the last five years. We have managed to go camping out in Whatipu, Waitakere Ranges, once so far, visited most of the beaches, and done a couple of tramps around the bush a bit closer to the city side. No major, hard-core tramps/camps for days on end, but more leisurely 'park the car day trips' kind of thing. I would highly recommend going with the kids if you are interested too, there is a variety of walks set out that would suit many levels of fitness. It is also well maintained with conservation awareness well set up, so taking the kids would be educational as well as the many other blessings you get when you go.

This past Easter weekend, my family and I spent two of the four days travelling across the…read moreWaitakere ranges. First visit was to the amazing Bethells Beach to get through the ranges, we had to start our journey at scenic drive, merging with Te Henga road, and then Bethells road which travels up the northern ridge of the ranges. We travelled through the beautiful cascade Kauri zone (where if you're keen for stretching the legs walk the 8 km track to see the biggest Kauri trees in Auckland) and finally arrived at the west coast- Bethells Beach. The drive is purely scenic as its name describes, and nature at its finest. The other journey I took was to Huia and Whatipu Beach, We started at Titirangi, and following signs headed towards the southern part of the ranges, first you past turn off's for Cornwallis, Huia and once in Little Huia, follow the Whatipu road which climbs up into the forest before plunging down towards Whatipu and the beach- this road is gravel and very twisty so be prepared for the drive. I really enjoyed my adventures through the ranges and loved the scenery and beaches I found.

I have given this reserve five stars for a few reasons, firstly because it is wonderful to find…read morethese pockets of nature so beautifully "put together" for urban and public use. This reserve is on the corner of busy New North Road and Burch Street in Mount Albert. It has gorgeous big trees, some are starting to turn orange when I visited today, a sign Autumn is fats approaching. They provide shade, beauty and ambience to the place. There are a few park benches but not many, use the grass is you miss out! It is not a very big reserve and probably not the type you would bring a large group of people; and even though it is not an overly private spot, you can still immerse yourselves towards the centre and forget about the outside world for a few moments. There is also a statue by a local artist that may hold some interest.

I'm a fan of green spaces in cities, and this is a beautiful one. For a free activity exploring…read moreoutside, this is a must visit. There are walking paths directly off of the Auckland Zoo parking lot and entrance, so it's easy to visit the park at the same time. There are both open and forested spaces here, with meandering paths around the central lake. The main draw for me here was the birds, with endangered moorhens, plus swans, geese, and songbirds. Most are docile enough to get great up-close photos. I was there on a mostly cloudy day, but it was still a worthwhile place to explore. There are also many trees and flowers here, I'm sure in the springtime it's more colorful. There are picnic tables and benches everywhere, so it'd be a great place to relax away from the bustle of the city. Getting here by public transportation is easy with a train stop nearby. If you're visiting Auckland and looking for something free and natural to do, you could easily spend a few hours here.

The coolest of all parks in Auckland, in my opinion!…read more A lot of water, black swans, geese, and all other animals all around. Nice place to spend with kids.

To call this a reserve - or even really a park - is to give this patch of ground more grandness…read morethan it really deserves. A better way to describe this is a piece of waste land, too small to put a house on, that Auckland has decided to justify the existence of by putting some toilets on it and a sign that says 'Sandringham Reserve'. Luckily the council took one extra step in glorifying this awkwardly-shaped street corner, and this is its saving grace. They put a playground on it and, although not large, it is a decent one. It's that usual wood-with-primary-coloured-pipes-and-plastic set-up that anyone who's been to a park in New Zealand in the last twenty years will be familiar with, and it's the only one in or around the Sandringham village, unless you're willing to take your small children on a hike up to the primary school by Pizza Haven, and nobody will be keen on that, not children or parents. Good thing there's Sandringham Reserve then, right?

Cute colourful and clever little park. Pretty new by the looks. Great size for keeping an eye on…read moreboth kids at once. Fully fenced, toilets and picnic space nearby and great coffee over road at Atomic. Amazing what you can create with stumps, planks, concrete and a few old tyres. Would've loved a swing or two but the kids (3.5 & 1yo) really enjoyed it all the same

I had a chance to explore the Te Atatu Peninsula Township on my recent visit to see a good friend,…read moreand I had to check out the local kids playground to give it my okay. Located on Pringle road, off the main strip of the town, in Jack Pringle Park is a very neat play area for the kids. My toddler really enjoyed the blue boat that you can sit in, and play drive, and also the rocking dolphin as well. I was able to shelter a bit from the hot sweltering heat under the beautiful shady trees at the playground, and I could see lots of families having a picnic on the tables nearby. A couple 100 metres away is the skate park for the older kids, and lots of space to stretch out on the lawns and read a book, or have a snooze. I agree this is a great park for the area.

This is a tiny little park next to the library in Te Atatu Peninsula Village. It's next to the…read moreroundabout on the main road, so even though the traffic comes by pretty slowly through the village there are always heaps and heaps of cars so keep a good eye on your kids or your dog. There's a playground here for kids to play on, it's not very big though but there's usually hardly anyone here anyway. They've got some public toilets that are those good ones where you can electronically lock the doors so it's very private and you don't have to worry about getting walked in on. There's parking around the back with quite a few parks available, and with the village right there, there are heaps of food options too.

Until high-school I'd never really had much to do with Craigavon Park. Located on the outskirts of…read moreBlockhouse Bay it's a little further west than I'd ever had reason to venture, but throughout my high-school years cross country runs, fun-runs and various other fundraisers were held at this park. Home to a pretty decent playground, BBQs, a scenic walk and even a skate park - Craigavon Park has activities and events that cater to the whole family. Pack a picnic, the Frisbee, backyard cricket set and your dog - and enjoy the day at one of west Auckland's most popular parks. Bonus: Craigavon Park played host to the Hippie festival late last year. It was such a great day. Travelling painted vans, palm readings, eclectic knick-knacks, decorated lightbulbs, handcrafted wooden toys, and delicious food - the festival was absolutely brilliant and if it ever comes back to Craigavon Park, make sure you don't miss it!

Follow the brown pebble road, follow the brown pebble road, following, following, following,…read morefollowing, follow the brown pebble road. While this path may not lead you to the Emerald City, it will get you to Cox's Bay waterfront. If you time your walk right, you should catch a beautiful sunset. West Coast is the best coast..whooo! Meander along the path through green, open spaces filled with large shade trees. There are a few benches to have a sit down while listening to birds and the water flowing along both sides of the reserve. Continue walking across the bridge through the mangroves. If you can make it during high tide you'll avoid the stale smell of slow moving water. It's not awful..but..yeah it ain't roses and jasmine either. Once you've passed the mangrove, what appears next is a vast open field. The area is big enough to have several groups of dogs frolicking and rolling around in the grass. Humans also have enough space to have numerous games of Frisbee, Soccer, Baseball (er Rugby?) without ruining into each other. So bring your toys and your dogs and have some fun. Don't forget to walk to the waterfront. It's unfortunate one can not swim there, that would be awesome. Nevertheless there is a bench for you to have a rest, while watching the day pass away with the Sun.

Absolutely Stunning…read more I came into the reserve from the obscure Richmond Road entrance. It was totally breathtakingly beautiful. On a sunny day, this would be a beautiful place to have a family picnic. I'm used to city life, so visiting Cox's Bay Reserve was a very peaceful experience. I'll definitely be back.