Te Atatu Peninsula Beach

My wife’s family have been living in Te Atatu for over thirty years and believe it or not, they didn’t know about this place until recently. I saw an article in the paper about secret beaches in Auckland and this was one of the beaches that was mentioned. The good thing is there is hardly anyone here in weekdays, mind you, you get people walking dogs and jogging on the weekends. It’s a sandy beach but the surface is full of shells so you would need footwear to walk along here — well, I wear footwear but some of locals don’t. There’s a beautiful view of the city from an angle you’ve probably never encountered before. There is a also a nice walkaway which goes right around the to the next beach. It’s a nice place to come for a long walk during summer. A great spot for kids, there is also a playground so plenty to keep them busy.

A great spot for a picnic, this little beach is a great place to bring the kids, go for a swim, or walk the dogs. My friend and I used to always come here during the week when the sun was out, because there’d be hardly anyone else here. We’d bring a blanket, some food and book, and have a relaxing afternoon in the sun, looking across the harbour at Auckland City. The water itself is harbour water, so it can be a bit muddy, but it’s fun for the kids because it’s flat as anything, and you always see lots of kids on floaties and people out on their kayaks. There’s a playground in the reserve that’s pretty decent, with bark as the base for safety. Make sure you bring your dog on a lead though because everyone brings their dogs down here, so if you’re dog is the type to take off, it’s much safer on a lead. We bring both our dogs down here and one of them loves running into the mud and into the water. The other just likes to roll around in the sand. The sand is quite shelly, actually. It’s kind of like a really small Mission Bay, out west, with no shops and of course far less people.