About | Tawharanui Regional Park
Tawharanui Regional Park is a great place for families. When the wind conditions are right, surfers flock to the beach in order to catch the perfect wave. This is also a great opportunity for boogie board lovers to get out there as well. Explore the rock pools, climb the hill and enjoy the views. There are also plenty of walking and bikes tracks in the park so strap on your shoes and walk around the beautiful Tawharanui Peninsula.
If you’re needing some beach time, head over to Anchor Bay. It’s a beautiful beach, fantastic for swimming. As a marine reserve, there’s also great snorkelling and diving opportunities.
Our kids love this place and it’s rated as the #1 beach by them. They absolutely love the waves and boogie boarding along them, they’re just the right size.
Walking and biking tracks range from 20 minutes to 4 hours, allowing you to walk around the whole peninsula and rewarding you with beautiful views of the coast.
There is a marine reserve at Tawharanui on the northern side of the peninsula. Fishing is allowed at the southern side. Download the Tawharanui Regional Park brochure to see where you’re allowed to fish.
There’s a basic tent and motorhome campsite just 50 meters from the beach. Booking in advance is recommended, especially during peak times.
Pack a picnic, bring your walking shoes or swimming togs and snorkels and enjoy and nice family day out at the beautiful Tawharanui Regional Park.
Gate opening hours: Summer (daylight savings): 6am – 9pm. Winter (non daylight savings): 6am – 7pm.
Toilet facilities.
No dogs allowed.
Nearby
Matakana Villiage (the Matakana Village Farmers Markets are on Saturday mornings)
Location
Photos
A bunch of seagulls like to nest on these rocks, when we visited a month or two earlier there were a lot of them here but this time there was only one chick who looked like he would spread his wings, too, in a couple weeks.
The beach (Anchor Bay)
The place was packed with people enjoying the summer warmth. The water was filled with both surfers and families, all happily riding along the waves on their surfboards, boogie boards and floaties. It certainly is a popular place in the summer months.
At the start of the West End Track. Beautiful views over Anchor Bay, Tawharanui.
Exploring the rocks
Come at low tide and you’ll be able to walk over the rocks seperating the two beaches. There are lots of rock pools, some big, some small. Watch as the waves come crashing into the rocks then spraying upwards.
Walk to the end of the peninsula
There are a few walking or biking tracks you can take along the Tawharanui Peninsula. On this one, we chose to head up higher, over farmland and to the end of the peninsula where you can look down below at the rocky coastline. If you’d prefer walking along the coastline, take the Maori Bay Coast Walk at mid-low tide and walk along the rocks, then loop back around going across farmland. You can also bring your fishing gear along this walk and give fishing a go, fishing is allowed but only on the south side of the Tawharanui Peninsula (the northern side is a marine reserve).
