More to see in West Auckland

More to see in West Auckland

So we drove towards Auckland that morning then decided to explore more of the West Coast, so we turned off at Highway 18 just before the craziness of the City Centre and followed the road over the bay near Hobsonville. We took Highway 16 just passed Royal Heights and followed the signs to Waimauku where we turned left to Muriwai Beach, which is also a 4wd track and very windy! We then went to check out Maori Bay when we noticed quite a few Chinese tourists on coaches taking photographs of the beach and heading up a pathway. So shortly after we went to investigate….there was a huge colony of Gannets! Further down was a small cave which we had to go and see! It wasn’t deep but it made a great place for an ‘echooooooo’

After all this excitement we wanted more! Yup! So we went back to Waimauku and turned left on the highway to Helensville! Which i thought was a really cool name for a town! Then we headed further west as we haven’t been this way yet! So past Parakai and Parkhurst was Shelly beach on the right, down a nice gravel road which our van really does not love! Nice little beach, we had a walk on the sand…which we thought was sand but it was more like mud! And our feet got stuck in the process! We both almost fell over ha ha!

We then noticed a lake called Ototoa, it was further up the point, past Waioneke but before South Head. So we drove there just before early evening…it was a beautiful clear blue lake on a hot summer’s day! We walked through the hills and forest to find a nice spot to make a small open fire for our evening meal and to keep us warm after the sun went down!