Auckland, Walks & Parks

A short drive from downtown Auckland is Mission Bay, a child friendly swimming beach with a playground, fountain and picnic area. Walk along the promenade or there is plenty of room for games in the park. Kayaks and rollerblades can be hired during the summer months. Further along Tamaki Drive is St Helier’s Beach, a one kilometre long, white, sandy beach with a children’s playground.

This park is located within the central business district and has large, grassed playing fields, a skate park and a children’s playground. Toilets and drinking fountains are available and at the weekends and during school and public holidays there is live entertainment at the Victoria Park Market which has more than 85 shops, cafes and restaurants and sells arts and crafts, souvenirs, fashion and sportswear.

This popular beach venue is only ten minutes from Auckland city and is an easy stroll to lots of shops, restaurants and cafes and the Sunday markets. There is good parking, toilets and a changing block and there is free entertainment for the kids during the summer holidays.

This beachside park on Auckland’s North Shore is only half an hour from Auckland City and a great place to bring the children. The one kilometre long, sandy beach is part of the Long Bay Regional Park and is usually a safe swimming beach. There is a playground with a flying fox at Long Bay as well as barbecue and picnic areas. The Long Bay Restaurant at the south end of the park on the beach front is open for lunch and dinner. Toilets are available and there is a restaurant and kiosk if you need food or a drink.

All the beaches on this stretch of the West Coast are black iron sand beaches. The safest place for swimming for children is at low tide in the Blue Pool off The Gap. The main beaches are not recommended for young children to swim in as they are primarily surf beaches. Nearby is the Piha Domain which contains toilets and a camping ground and is a great place for picnics.

The dunes which border this estuary are constantly changing. The estuary is safe for swimming but you need to be careful of the outgoing tide near the mouth of the harbour. Kids will enjoy collecting cockles and pipi further up the harbour.

Forest, cascading streams and safe beaches – Waiheke Island has it all. Book a picnic site on the beach at Whakanewha Regional Park on the south side of the island which has a crescent-shaped beach with warm, shallow water ideal for children at high tide. Or try Onetangi, Waiheke’s biggest ocean beach with a long, sandy beach, safe swimming, and places to eat.

The Auckland Domain is probably best known for the annual CocaCola Christmas in the Park extravaganza. This 75 hectare park is Auckland’s oldest and has been developed around an extinct volcano. There are duck ponds, sportsfields and the Auckland War Memorial Museum is located right in the middle!

An ideal place to take the family for a day out. Set in 40 hectares of open farm land, forest, cliff tops and rocky sea shore, there are family walks and a safe swimming beach, rock pools and even pet animals to feed. With large grass areas, plenty of barbecue and picnic sites and a children’s playground, there is plenty to do at Omana Regional Park to keep the children happy.

This beautiful park is a wildlife sanctuary and surrounds a spring-fed lake where you can feed the birds and the tame eels or watch the native pukeko, swans and ducks. The park has a walking track, boardwalks through the wetlands and there are picnic tables and a children’s playground.