If you feel like taking a drive out of Auckland central to hunt down some magnificent beaches, you don’t have to go far. Whangaparoa Peninsula is less than a 20 minute drive from Auckland and boasts some truly beautiful coastlines. Big Manly Beach is probably my pick of the bunch, not to be confused with Little Manly! Little Manly is not as sheltered as Big Manly so the swells can be significantly bigger/rougher on this isle in comparison. Big Manly is a supreme swimming beach and in the summer the water always seems to be warm for some reason(and no, no one peed in there), it also has a little jetty that floats out with the tide as well which is great fun to swim out too and hold bomb competitions off. It takes a while to get deep as well, so its pretty safe for the little ones, and theres a playground to entertain them as well once they get cold/bored. I personally like nothing more than parking the car up on the grassy knoll fronting the beach itself and settle under a well placed tree and have a few drinks with friends while having some beaut scenery to look at. Bliss
