Judge’s Bay

Great spot to go for a stroll with the pup. Judges Bay backs onto the gorgeous Parnell rose gardens so plenty of space for an off lead run around.
It’s definitely not your typical bay with a beach (or any sort of for shore for that matter) but there is a small stretch of sand. Don’t know if you’d catch me swimming there though…

Judges Bay in the summertime is my ‘happy place’ — time it with the tide in and swim out to the floating-​wooden-​diving-​things. Bring a picnic, and some sunscreen and you’re in for a good day! Just ignore the roaring train and channel the highway noise into wave-​sounds

I’ve always taken notice of this little inlet on the way back from Mission Bay along Tamaki Drive, but have always wondered a) what it was called, (b) how you accessed it and © if it was swimmable.
Answer to (a) is Judges Bay, (b) the easiest option for access is to hit Judges Bay Road in Parnell or you can wander down through Dove Meyer Robinson Park and © I would say by the amount of people I have seen here on different occasions that yes it is swimmable.
It even has its own pontoon and jetty. Now that’s swimmable!
Because its cut off from the the ocean itself by the road and bordered on both sides by developments it does feel like a little hideaway. I’m super duper glad I discovered it!

Apparently Auckland has four places where the toxicity level of the water is unsafe. and what do you know, Judges Bay is one of them. It looks so inviting, with the pontoons and seating while watching trains go by. Instead of going to Parnell Baths, why not come here? Well, I would say that the water quality warning would be one main reason, but luckily the council have recently released monitoring results which hold Judges Bay to be a fine place to swim. So if you believe that, come here for a swim. Otherwise, prepare to fork out a bit extra and head on over to the Parnell Pools

This isn’t really a beach, I mean, it’s very small and the water looks a little freaky (read: dirty) sometimes, but in terms of innercity getaways, it’s one of my favourites. There’s a grassy hill and a little bit of sand, and when the tide is in, you can swim to one of three pontoons. There’s also a little jetty type thing you can jump off.
Parking is good around that area too. I’ve never been down there when it’s super busy though. Go when it’s high tide and it’s almost like having a tiny beach to yourself because it’s relatively secluded.
What I would do is take fish and chips down there — walk through the Rose Gardens and have a picnic on the beach. Trés Romantique.