Plan Your Walks
Whangarei Heads is a great area for walking – here are some options:
The Humphrey Loop track is an easy 45 minute walk on our property.
Ocean Beach to Kauri Mountain is approximately 6km one way and takes about 1.5 hours. This is best walked at low tide, walk both ways or have a car at each end.
Mt Manaia is a two hour return trip, there are a lot of steps but you are rewarded with spectacular views. Don’t miss the look-out at Jagger’s Bluff three quarters of the way up. There is a car-park and public toilets at the base.
Mt Aubrey can be walked from Tiller Park on Reotahi Road, or from the walkway at the bottom of Little Munro Bay. You can add on the Darch Point loop to make a total walk of about two hours. This is an easy walk with some steps. If you leave your car at the Manaia car-park you can easily walk back there.
Bream Head/Te Whara is a challenging 8km track. It can be walked from Ocean Beach or Urquhart Bay, we definitely recommend starting at the Ocean Beach end. You need a car at both ends for this one. The terrain is rough and there are a lot of stairs, a reasonable level of fitness makes this more enjoyable. Times vary greatly, but averages about 5-6 hours. There are toilets at the beginning and the end of this track.
Peach Cove can be reached in about two hours from Ocean Beach Road. The track starts about 1km before the beach, head up from the Peach Cove carpark, turn right onto the Bream Head/Te Whara track and then take the left hand turn down into the Cove. This is steep and there are a lot of stairs, return the same way.
Walk half of the Bream Head/Te Whara track. You can walk the eastern end as a loop, either start at Ocean Beach and come down the Peach Cove track back to the road, or vice-versa. Or for the western end go up to the ridge at Peach Cove and turn right to end at Urquhart Bay. Each half takes approximately three hours.
Smugglers Bay is a beautiful sandy beach. There is a track from Urquhart Bay that takes about 20 minutes, one way from the carpark. There are toilets in the car-park.
Carry on from Smugglers Bay to complete the Busby Head Track, or walk back over the saddle to the car-park. The Busby Head track loops back to the car-park and is an easy 1.5 hour walk. There are some steps, spectacular views and the historic gun emplacement site to explore.
The McLeod Bay Pioneer Cemetery can be reached from the northern end of McLeod Bay, walking around the shore-line. This two hour return walk needs to be done at low tide.
Pataua is a stunning beach settlement about 25 minutes drive from our accommodation. If you park at the Mahanga Rd carpark you can walk to Frogtown beach, back around the estuary and over the footbridge to North Pataua.
The Town Basin is a 40 minute drive from our accommodation, in Whangarei City. Many walks start from here:
The Hatea Loop Walkway
Hatea River Walk
Parihaka Scenic Reserve Tracks
AH Reed Memorial Park
Whangarei Falls
