Our summer holidays for 2024/2025 started with a trip up north and 5 days camping at Tāwharanui Regional Park. Tāwharanui is east of Warkworth and Matakana, to the north of Auckland city. In addition to having beautiful beaches the Tāwharanui peninsular is protected by a predator fence which has allowed the release of native NZ wildlife that isn’t commonly found on the mainland. With the proximity to Auckland this is a popular destination and the campsite was fully booked for the duration of our stay. Prior research had let us know that even when full the campsite still has plenty of space, though the camping area is also not the flattest so finding a suitable site to pitch a tent can be a challenge. The campsite is also basic in terms of facilities with just longdrop style toilets and frequent taps for fresh water provided on site. With all this information we were set for a busy week and had purchased a few extras to help make an off-grid camping week more comfortable.
Part of our planning involved staying at my cousin’s place in Onehunga the night before so we could get to the campsite early, all the better to find a good site for our tent. We also ended up borrowing a camping shelter (thanks Amanda and Andy) so we knew we’d need a decent amount of grass. The campsite is reached via a locked gate inside the Tāwharanui predator free area, we’d been informed that the code for the gate would be provided once we had booked. No code was forthcoming so I’d rung Auckland City Council earlier in the week and made sure they sent us the codes (the access code changes weekly).
To help with food storage we’d also bought a fancy camping fridge (Dometic CFX3-35 Portable Fridge Freezer), a battery to power the fridge (EcoFlow River 2 Pro) and a solar panel to charge the battery (EcoFlow NextGen 160W Portable Solar Panel) but this meant storage space in the car was at a premium. So I also convinced Keryn that we should purchase a towbar mounted storage box (Thule Onto Towball Mounted Storage). Unfortunately the storage box wasn’t ordered early enough to arrive before we left home so I arranged to pick it up from HyperDrive in Auckland, thankfully only a 10 minute drive from where we were staying in Onehunga. In some ways this was a blessing in disguise – other than having an overpacked vehicle driving from Porirua to Auckland. It turned out that the towball we had wasn’t quite the right one so I needed to buy a new one, getting it installed was easy as I was at the showroom already. While that happened I was lucky that the Thule sales rep was onsite and he put the Thule Onto together. At least I’d remembered to arrange for a supplemental number plate and had packed some cable ties so that could be fitted. So great service from HyperDrive and soon enough I was back at my cousins place and we were able to repack before heading to Tāwharanui.
When we arrived at the campsite we were surprised to find it mostly empty, perhaps others were coming out later today? The undulating camping area made settling on a spot a little difficult, but we eventually decided and set to pitching our tent. Soon enough we had our tent, shelter, and shower tent all erected. The fridge was placed in the tent, connected to the battery and the battery to the solar panel. This combination worked very well over our stay, there was more than enough sunshine each day to ensure the battery was fully charged while also powering a few other devices. The campsite had a few groups arriving and leaving each day but was never full. The regional weather forecast was actually quite terrible for many of the days we were present and we think that scared off campers. As it turned out we had very little actual rain, most of the inclement weather passing to the east or west far out at sea.
The beach is a short walk from the campsite and is a long stretch of golden/white sand. About a kilometer east from our end of the campsite is the general public carpark and that’s where there are lifeguards for supervised swimming, and this is also where the surfers congregate at Phoenix Reef. So there is plenty of beach for relaxing, swimming, boogie boarding and surfing.
Alayna had a good time digging in the sand and making a decent hole which contained a number of small tunnels. This underground complex was balwaked against the incoming tide and we were surprised to find that it survived a numbers of days, obviously well constructed.
I went for walks early most mornings exploring different tracks and seeing what wildlife I could find. With a mix of beach, farmland and bush there was always something new to see. One morning I came across a NZ dotterel with a tiny chick slowly heading along the edge of the dunes and I was able to quietly sit and watch the chick fossicking for bugs as it journeyed along the beach, mum keeping an eye on me but not overly concerned.
A wildlife highlight Tāwharanui is a strong population of North Island brown kiwi. We set out around dusk one night to see if we could spot any kiwi. There was rabbit control work happening at the Anchor Bay end of Tāwharanui so instead we visited Mangatawhiri Track at the west end of the reserve. This track starts by the road and makes its way through a paddock before entering the bush. There were cattle in the paddock, Hereford cows and calves. There were signs talking about how the Hereford breed had been chosen due to their general docile nature so we had no concerns walking around the small herd.
It was still quite light so was walked the Mangatawhiri Track and completed the short loop through bush and a swampy area. At one of the boardwalk bridges in the swamp part of the track I surprised a bittern which took off in a panic of calling and flapping wings – the first time I can recall seeing a bittern.
As dusk started turning into night we were walking back towards the paddock when we heard and then saw a kiwi beside the track. We watched for a few minutes as the kiwi quietly wandered through the undergrowth, searching for food and prodding the earth with it’s long bill. We were the only people on the track and it was wonderful to have such an intimate experience.
Remember the docile cattle? When we arrived back at the paddock the cows had settled with their calves near the gate and across the path. We quietly entered the paddock and walked towards the gate on the far side. Not far into the paddock one of the larger cows decided that three people with head torches shining were obviously a threat and charged at us. A large, angry cow thundering towards you in the semi-dark is not a comforting sight and this saw us panic. Keryn and Alayna turned and ran and after a moment I yelled at them to stop before facing the cow with arms out and making loud noises. This thankfully was enough to stop the cow in its tracks (I’m so glad none of us were trampled). Alayna had dropped her warm top so I edged towards it, picking it up as I kept an eye on the cattle. We then took a circular path through the paddock where we avoided the cattle as much as possible, comforting a shaken child and each other. We were very thankful to exit the paddock and made sure to warn the young couple heading into the paddock to avoid the cows.
The following evening we again went out to look for kiwi, this time at the Ecology Trail past Anchor Bay. There were no paddocks this time and we saw 4 different kiwi. We also saw a pāteke wander down the track towards us, not overly bothered to be sharing the path with people. Ruru were also calling, the calm night perfect for hearing the birds. There were a few groups of people out also looking for kiwi including one tour group and by the sounds of things most had seen at least a few kiwi.
We found ourselves heading into nearby Matakana most days to explore and get food supplies. The Four Square was very well stocked. We also had a visit to the nearby Sculptureum, a wonderful garden of sculptures with galleries of interesting artwork. Again we were lucky to find the place mostly free of visitors and I think being able to wander through the gardens and galleries by ourselves led to a more relaxed and intimate experience.
We spent plenty of time just relaxing, reading in the shade, throwing a frisbee and going for more walks. As mentioned the weather was kind to us, we only had one short period of actual rain. Mostly it was sun and light winds, a perfect start to our summer break. We’ll be back, the combination of camping, beach life and varied wildlife is going to be hard to beat.
The Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary Supporters Inc. organisation has good resources on their website describing the work being done at Tāwharanui and the wildlife that can be found in the sanctuary.
