Muriwai
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Understand
Get in
From Auckland take the Northwestern Motorway then continue on State Highway 16, turning off at Waimauku onto Muriwai Rd.
Get around
4WD vehicles and motorcycles are permitted to drive on the hard sand of Muriwai Beach and Te Oneone Rangatira. Road rules apply. Access points are from Coast Rd at Muriwai and Rimmer Rd in Woodhill Forest near Helensville. The speed limit is 30 km/h south of Okiritoto Stream, and 60 km/h north of the stream. Drive with headlights on. Access to the northern beach is only within three hours either side of low tide. Be wary of soft sand, tide surges, sweeper waves and, of course, the incoming tide.
See
- Gannet breeding colony on Otakamiro Point, nearby Motutara Island, and Oaia Island, 1.6 km out. There are viewing platforms and information panels about these beautiful seabirds. The birds return here between Jul and Oct and lay eggs around Oct–Nov. The colony is deserted in late autumn and early winter. This is the most easily-accessible gannet colony in New Zealand.
Do
- Swim in the surf between the life savers' flags.
- Surfing is the main pastime at Muriwai and Maukatia (Maori Bay).
- Paragliding and hang gliding at Maori Bay, especially when the prevailing souwesterly wind provides favourable conditions.
- Bush walking. Boardwalks are in place.
- Mountain biking. There are many bike trails up in the pines, mainly downhill and freeride trails.
- Beach fishing along the many km of beach, which are accessible by driving along the beach.
- Rock fishing can be done from the rocks at the southern end of the beach but can be very dangerous because of the surf sweeping across the rocks. Numerous fishers have been swept from the rocks and drowned. Wear a life jacket, and don't wear gumboots, even if you are intending to stay on the rocks.
- Horse riding from the horse park, Coast Rd (past the golf links).
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address: Coast RdGolf links close to the beach.
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phone: +64 21 4 78734Surfing lessons, and hire of surfboards, bodyboards, wetsuits and blokarts (sand yachts).
- Don't light fires or solid fuel barbeques.
Buy
-
Muriwai Top Shop
address: 189 Motutara RdFishing bait and tackle and general goods. Takeaway food (not on Mondays). Also cafe behind the shop, open in summer F Sa 4-9PM, Su 9AM-4PM.
Eat
Muriwai Golf Club restaurant and bar
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Sand Dunz Beach Cafe
address: 409 Motutara RdCafe, takeaways, ice creams. Right by the beach. - Waimauku, where you turn off the highway, has a supermarket, cafe, takeaways.
Sleep
There are a number of accommodation options not listed here.
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phone: +64 9 411 9262, +64 21 753 370Right by the beach.
Go next
- Helensville - a town to the north, with Kaipara Harbour cruises and fishing, and natural thermal pools and skydiving at Parakai
- Piha - a beach to the south
- West Auckland