Auckland Region

Known to the Maori as One Rangatira (the chiefly beach), Muriwai stretches north from the rocky coastline at Te Henga to the South Head of the Kaipara harbour. The gannet colony attracts numerous visitors and shellfish, especially Toheroa, have been a sought after delicacy along the coast for generations. Now a popular sporting venue, the sand based pine forests at Woodhill were once covered in native forests. The forest was cleared by European settlers, whose farms subsequently became subjected to the ravages sand dunes migrating from the coast across the now unprotected hinterland. The great depression years, which saw 80,000 people out of work, provided a labour force to restore the coastline and in 1932 the planting of marram grasses began, followed by lupins and later seedling pines. To the north, the Kaipara Harbour is broad and shallow in most places, formed from a system of drowned river valleys with extensive mudflats and sandflats exposed at low tide. Extending 60 km from north to south, its long arms extend deep inland, one of them ending near Maungaturoto, only 10 km from the Pacific Ocean on the opposite coast. The narrow harbour entrance is 6 km wide with a 50 m deep channel, feeding huge volumes of water to and from the Tasman Sea. The tides rise and fall over 2 m, with spring tides reaching speeds of up to 9 km/hr. The head of the harbour is a dangerous place where huge ocean waves break over large sandbars just below the surface. These constantly changing sandbars are known locally as the graveyard and are responsible for more shipwrecks than any other place in the country. A total of 43 vessels have been wrecked here, although some claim as many as 110.  Many of these shipwrecks can still be seen today, exposed under certain tidal and sand conditions, and the harbour is now rarely used for shipping. This is a great stretch of coast for visitors to New Zealand to explore. If you feel like getting out of Auckland and taking a drive north along the coast, you can hire a cheap rental car for a few days and head north along uncrowded roads to some beautiful unspoiled beaches, stop for a soak in naturally heated hot pools and take a stroll around an old historic township, all within an hour or twos drive from the city.

Winemaking, Kumeu.

1KUMEU vineyards

Kumeu is located on SH16 north of Auckland and can be accessed via the North-Western Motorway.
Kumeu has a number of wineries ranging in size from very large to very small, producing diverse and interesting wine styles from grapes grown both locally as well as other regions such as Marlborough, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and the Wairarapa. Kumeu River Wines is one of the older established vineyards founded in 1944 by the Brajkovich family who had migrated from Yugoslavia and originally worked as gumdiggers in Northland. In the 1890s prejudice and then legislation had forced the Dalmatians from working the kauri gumfields, so these families from what is now know as Croatia, began planting grapes and producing wine in the West Auckland area as well as Hawke’s Bay. These Dalmatian families were to have a significant influence on New Zealand’s wine industry. Between 1899 and 1913 the Frankovich brothers established a vineyard on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, producing over 18,000 litres of wine a year on a 4.5 ha property. By 1906 there were no less than 14 Dalmatian vineyards around Herekino and by 1916 Josip Babich and his brothers had planted vines at Kaikino, later moving to Henderson in 1919. More Dalmatian wineries were established in the 1930s and 1940s, including Selaks, Nobilo, Soljans, San Marino (later Kumeu River and Delegat’s. Dalmatian families owned about 90% of the 80 or more small vineyards around West Auckland in the 1950s. Some of these wineries, originally founded or worked by Dalmatians, would become the country’s largest wine producers. Ivan Yukich produced his first vintage wines in 1944 for what would become Montana Wines, while Andrew Fistonich, who had become a licensed winemaker in 1949, was later to become the founder of Villa Maria.

2MURIWAI

Head west on SH16, Main Road, 6.1 km then turn left onto Muriwai Road and continue 7.9 km to Motutara Road and continue west 2.8 km to the carpark behind the beach.
Popular for surf casting, kite fishing as well as various off-road sports like land yachting, Muriwai Beach is one of the most visited beaches along the west coast. Fringed by the Woodhill pine forest, the beach is popular with swimmers but is also used as a public road that stretches north all the way to the lagoon at the South Head of the Kaipara Harbour.

AUSTRALASIAN GANNET COLONY

Return east on Motutara Road 0.2 km, turn right onto Waitea Road and continue 0.3 km up the hill then turn right into the access road to the Maori Bay carpark.
Tracks connect from Muriwai Beach through to the carpark above Maori Bay to the south, providing access to the viewing platforms overlooking the clifftop breeding colony of Australasian gannets on the coast. The birds originally began nesting on an offshore island and as the colony grew in size, it spread to a nearby rock-stack and then to the cliffs on the shoreline. The easiest way to get to the viewing platforms is from the Maori Bay carpark, where you can also see the jointed columns and twisted shapes of the pillow lava that erupted underneath the sea and which has been exposed in the huge quarry rock-face above the beach.

Motocross bike, Muriwai Beach.

3WOODHILL FOREST

Turn right, back onto Waitea Road and continue south 1.3 km, turn left onto Oaia Road and drive north 2 km continuing 7.9 km on Muriwai Road to SH 16. Turn left onto SH 16 and drive 5.8 km to the entrance to Woodhill Forest on the left.
Woodhill is one of New Zealand's largest sand forests, covering over 12,000 hectares along the west coast, north of Auckland. The forest were established during the depression years in the 1930's to stop the spread of coastal sand dunes inland. By 1880 the drifting sands had covered 46,000 ha and by 1873 there were dunes south of the Kaipara 90 m tall. Farmland was being rapidly transformed into desert. By 1909 the sand had covered over 120,000 ha. The dunes were stabilised by initially planting marram grasses as well as Pingao and Spinifex, followed later by tree lupins which added nitrogen and nutrients to the barren sand. Eventually pine trees were planted and today these forests have become a vast playground for Aucklanders, who use the forest for a range of recreational activities including horse riding, motorcycle riding, four-wheel driving, mountain biking, running and orienteering.

4AQUATIC PARK PARAKAI SPRINGS

Continue northwest on SH16 9.2 km and turn left into Parkhurst Road. Continue 1.2 km to Aquatic Park on the right.
The Aquatic Park features exciting waterslides and a large complex of indoor and outdoor thermal pools of varying temperatures 3 km to the west of Helensville at Parakai. Visitors can hire swimsuits and towels

5HELENSVILLE

Return south 1.2 km on Parkhurst Road to SH 16, turn left and continue 1.4 km to Helensville.
Located near the southern end of New Zealand's largest harbour, the Kaipara, the area around Helensville was originally called Te Awaroa, meaning "the long river valley" by the Maori. The first European settlers in the area were Scottish timber millers and it was one of these, John McLeod who built a house which he named "Helen's Villa" after his wife, the name eventually being applied to the whole district. Today Helensville has retained the character of a pioneering town, with its quaint antique stores, historic buildings and what is known as "the best little museum in the west." The Helensville Pioneer Museum features the old courthouse, built in 1864, complete with judge's bench and chair, prisoner dock and witness stand. Hedley House, an Edwardian villa dates back to 1912 featuring a kauri room where you can listen to recordings of 'old timers' talking about life in the ‘good old days’. The original schoolhouse was built in 1883 and has a map identifying the locations of the many shipwrecks and strandings that were a feature of the perilous sea route that linked Helensville with other centres in the early days. The museum is open on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.