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.

Fantastic park and walkway that I got to introduce to friends who had never heard of it or been…read morebefore! So glad they know of it now, especially the one who has a dog whose allowed on this track. Just next to Castor Bay, Kennedy is home to gun emplacements as well as tunnels from the Second World War. The tunnels are only open second Sunday of every month between 11am and 2pm for guided walks by volunteers from the Kennedy Park WWII Trust. There is also ample green grass and shade from trees next to the wooden coastal walkway. There is a sturdy wooden staircase leading to Back Beach where several people were doing up and down stair-runs and other fit-stuff. Good on them. Unfortunately we came at high tide so couldn't make it full all the way around the cliffs but definitely coming back at low tide to do more walk exploring and go for a swim! Having said that though, we instead did the coastal walk, noticed the spiderweb-centred playground that looked like fun as well. A proper dedicated car park space you can turn into after the main sign. Such a great park space- must see.

JF Kennedy Park is one of those fantastic spots that has somehow managed to remain relatively…read moreunknown - well, unknown enough at least to ensure it's not overcrowded or anything. You get there a little turnoff into a carpark off Beach Road which reveals a wide expanse of park complete with a quality playground. At first you don't quite realise how high up you are, but then you notice the water of the Hauraki Gulf on the horizon out to the east, walk to the edge of the park, and see that you're actually on a high clifftop. You can follow a wooden staircase all the way down the cliff-face, revealing a beautiful beach mercifully free of direct car access which makes gives it a nice secluded feel. It is a favourite of the fitness/dog walking crowd, but most of the time this beach is pretty well empty so it's a great place to come for a swim, enjoy some Vitamin D, and marvel at the golden rock of the cliff. My favourite time to come is just before sunset - it's especially peaceful around this time, and in summer the water's still lovely and warm.

Best. Playground. Ever…read more Right on one of the best beaches in Auckland. Close to a large selection of good cafes abd restaurants. The playground equipment is in very good working order and there are lots of picnic tables nearby to have a picnic or enjoy some takeaways!

I don't get to visit Browns Bay too often, but the highlight for my sun is the amazing playground…read morethey have here. As a mother of a bubbly active 17 month old baby, I am always keen to re visit playgrounds that are planned and made for children of his age. I have been to a few that are just way to complex and hard to navigate for his younger age. I need not worry at Browns Bay; they have a fabulous ground floor playground for the little crawlers to walkers, and runner's even- fun tunnels, up and down moving boardwalks, climbing stairs and lots of slides. I like that the playground is located nice and close to the beach, so if your child has had enough playing they can either go to explore the beautiful beach, or even splash around for a swim. It is just a short walk to the public toilets, and a cool skate area for the big boys and girls. I usually just grab a coffee at the nearby cafe and sit and watch as my son enjoys this great play area.

The perfect children's park... why? Because you can lock them in! This park is large enough to set…read moreup some great picnic blankets and bring the whanau but small enough to be able to scan the whole area at once to locate those mischeivious children. The gates run along the whole outside of the park and secure properly so no kiddies can get out. The playground itself has something to please everyone with poles, tunnels, swings and my favourite... the octopus spinning thing! This one's big enough for adults to have a play on! Although beware you don't want to be sitting opposite a tiny tot or the whole thing will tip your way! The park is close to the beach and the shops so swimming, ice cream and fish and chips are only a stroll away!

Great playground with a brand new merry go round. Fully fenced to keep the kids safe & quite a few…read morepicnic tables and park benches scattered around. There are paved paths for kids to ride their scooters or balance bikes & the spinning tire swing is very popular with the school aged kids. The climbing equipment is in great condition too.

Places like this one are hard to find and every parent of an under 5-year old child would probably…read morewish more cafes of this kind existed in Auckland. On the other hand, this is probably not a cafe to come to if you don't have younger kids to sip on a latte. Be warned, it can be quite loud in here! I probably come to Cafe Windsor (part of the Baptist Church next door) at least twice a month with my 1 year old girl and I always end up bumping into other mothers I know from somewhere (not a lot of dads around though). In general, it's a great place to meet and hang out with your coffee group and the little ones are catered for really well with changing tables, high chairs and a little indoor and outdoor playground. The whole front of the building can be opened up which is fantastic in good weather. The whole area is fully fenced so escapes won't happen. They also have a range of parenting books for sale and sometimes special events like clothes and toy markets are organised. Oh, and try the mixed berry smoothy which is well-priced for $5.50 I think.

If I'm wanting a decent conversation with my fellow mum friends, this is where we go. With fully…read morefenced surroundings and two separate play areas - the outdoor playground with shade covering - the kids can run free while us mums can actually talk. The food and service are both relatively good, although fairly standard fare. Of particular interest on our latest visit was an offering of a picnic plate kid's meal for $3.50 - a sandwich, fruit kebab and cheese cubes. It was definitely great to see a cheaper and more well-rounded option on the menu that standard kid meals of nuggets and chips. Would I return here without a child? Heck no. It's never going to be a peaceful way to spend a couple of hours with dozens of children rattling around. But Cafe Windsor has clearly seen a niche in the market and they have filled it well.

Amy said it best in her review, there are two ways to look at Chipmunks …read more. A) As an Adult B) As a kid. Lets address point A first. Captive market (you can't bring other food/drink in), crowded surroundings, uncomfortable seats and horrible overpriced food served by very surly staff who really don't want to be there. Point B needs a little bit of information too, my five year old will charge around there from place to place and scream and jump and have fun. My 7 year old comes back to the table, a little bored every now and then. But yes the defining factor of THIS Chipmunks is the long slide, its mega fun for the kids to play on while the adults seethe in silence. TIP: Bring a book, iPad, Laptop etc.. just SOMETHING.

Chipmunks is a claustrophobic's worst fear! When I went, there was practically NO room to move…read morearound. There were families and kiddies parked up everywhere on every square inch of the building! For this reason I couldn't stay too long but we did stay long enough to enjoy some of the highlights. For me the main highlight was the slide, which you sped down while sitting on a blanket to make you pick up some serious speed! For my nephew I think everything was a highlight... from the crazy jungle gyms to the jumping castle - it's a child's paradise! I'm a little reluctant to go back because of the crowds... but for my little boy I would go and charge the slide again for sure!

Northwood Reserve is a neighbourhood park in the Rosedale area that backs onto a whole lot of…read morenative bush with a stream that runs all the way through it. This is a really awesome park for walking the dog or taking children to as there's so much room to run around, there's a playground with a covered shade area and seats, and theres even a barbeque station set up so it pretty much keeps the whole family happy. I take a lot of pram walks down here because its close to my work and it is perfect for quiet walks with the baby mainly because there is hardly ever anybody here! The reserve had a major overhaul last year when the council put some power lines underground so there was a lot of digging and fenced off areas but it seems to have recovered okay and you'd hardly even know anything had happened here. For a neighbourhood park I always wonder why this place isn't always packed but I think its because the area is still relatively quiet so nobody knows about it yet! I'm pretty sure this will change fairly soon. In the meantime I'm happy to take peaceful walks through the park on my own.

do NOT go to this beach. my whole family got bit by something and gave them red itchy bites just by…read moregoing in the water. Also we saw plenty of poisonous jellyfish which could've sent my babies to the hospital

Narrow Neck Beach is simply the most beautiful beach in Auckland !…read moreNear Devo, this beach is very large and quiet. Here, you will find clear water, fine sand not forgetting a wonderful view. But the photographs will talk better about it than a long explanation. Just the perfect place to go and relax after a working day.