Muriwai Walking Tracks

ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE PLACES TO WALK IN AUCKLAND

07 AUGUST 2022

Phoenix's favourite swimming spot along the track

The Long Way To The Beach

Muriwai is a paradise playground for all ages who love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We love how much space there is and so much diversity. There's not many places in Auckland where you can hike, watch incredible sunsets, drive on the beach, go horse riding and see gannets all in one spot! It's 1 hour from Auckland CBD but if you're lucky enough to live closer then you should definitely be visiting here regularly!

When we were living in North West Auckland, we would visit regularly to take Phoenix for a walk and to explore. Our favourite place to walk along was the gravel track that starts at the parking area on Ocean Road. There are so many tracks and trails that take you to all sorts of interesting places from the gravel track - trails that are so diverse that it's crazy to think it's all in one area!

One track takes you into the forest and you kinda feel like you're in the Blair Witch Project, another track takes you to the beach, another takes you along the river and so on and so on! Phoenix loved the river and always jumped in for a swim and of course then he would stand right beside us and shake water all over us.

Your kids will love walking here, there are sticks to throw in rivers (or into the bush), trees to climb, water to play/swim in... basically the perfect playground to explore and have fun! There are heaps of spaces to set up for a picnic too, usually without anyone walking past or setting up their own picnic near you.

Walking from the carpark to the beach takes around 15-20 minutes, but it always took us way longer because there was always something to explore on the way. The gravel track is flat the whole way and the tracks off from it are easy as.

Muriwai forest

Tash, little Bella and Phoenix on the gravel track heading towards the beach

Lath, little Sienna and Phoenix on a path less followed

Muriwai Beach Track

There is a really nice walking track that's 5.7kms long and takes you down the Coast Beach Road and along Muriwai Beach. The Coast Road has really nice views over the Muriwai Golf Course and then of course once you get onto the beach you have amazing views of the huge waves, surfers, gannets diving into the water (depending on the time of year) and the untamed, wild cliffs of Muriwai Beach.

We had done so many walks around Muriwai, we highly recommend you just go and explore! There's always so much to see and do and the kids absolutely love it.

Lath, Arabella & Sienna walking on one of the tracks near the beach

This place looked like a magical fairy house!

Photoshoot at an abandoned building near the inlet

A super cool that looks like it's twisted around

Inlet with a View

One of our favourite spots is to walk to is to the inlet beside the beach. As with most tracks at Muriwai, there are multiple paths to get there, you just head towards the sand dunes and pick ya spot to chill!

There are so big logs along there which are nice to sit on after a big walk or to do a photoshoot with the kiddies. Another place for a photoshoot is before you get to the inlet, there's an abandoned building that looks so random out there in the wilderness and it has a big wooden cable spool outside it. The building is covered in graffiti and I've no idea what it was used for originally, but there's so much broken glass and rubbish inside... I would definitely stay outside!

Playing in the inlet with the kids and dog is awesome. It's so calm there (unlike the ocean!) and they love throwing in sticks and rocks and splashing about (especially Phoenix). There's heaps of space along there to not feel crowded when others are there.

There are sand dunes on the other side and it's hard to cross over to get to the dunes and beach, you have to keep going to the right oooor you can swim across - we've never tried as it looks pretty deep and it's a long way back to the car if you're soaked and cold.

Taking an off roading pram is easy on this track. Sometimes the sand can be deep in some places but it's mainly rocks, grass or dirt and sometimes to get to the best places, it can be a rocky road.

Bella and Phoenix heading to the inlet

Beautiful views across the inlet

Heaps of logs to relax on - nature's lounge suite

Sienna and Phoenix

High Vantage Points

Muriwai has a spectacular coastline, with views sweeping along the whole beach and rugged cliffs covered in native bush. There are many tracks along Muriwai that are up along the cliffs and even high up on the sand dunes.

It's the type of place you're able to walk pretty much anywhere and take any track you want to. It's kinda cool that it's like this because it means you explore a lot more than you usually would and sometimes find hidden gems!

There is a track up on the cliffs that takes you to the gannet bird colony viewing platforms. It's easy to get to and well sign posted on Waitea Road and the walk itself only takes a few minute from the carpark. Between August and March you can see over 1200 pairs of gannets nesting and hopefully some chicks! The sunset from up here is absolutely incredible!!

There is a Muriwai to Te Henga walking track that we have done part of before, but we started at Bethells Beach and walked towards Muriwai and unfortunately part of the track was closed so we couldn't walk to Muriwai. This has AMAZING cliffside views, so we highly recommend doing this walk when the track is open for hikers, or do it from the other side at Bethells Beach.

Keep an eye out for rainbow waterfalls on the cliff face, we were fortunate to have seen one and it was amazing!

View on the path to the gannet colony

Muriwai's famous gannet colony

Amazing rainbow waterfall!

Amazing view from the Waitea Road lookout

Horse Riding Through The Forest

One of the coolest things I have done in Muriwai is is horse riding through the forest. This had always been on my bucket list so it was such an awesome experience to tick off.

Our group started off in the Coast Road carpark and we got to have a feel for the horse and learn how to use the reins. Once we were confident in being able to turn, stop and giddy up our horses, we set off into the forest.

What a view from up on the horse! We rode on Muriwai Beach which was a great experience and the river crossing was a lot of fun as well as riding through the forest in between trees and up hills (that freaked me out when they got a run up the hill!). It was a fantastic experience and would highly recommend doing this at least once.

Our horses waiting before the ride

Just about to ride through the river. Luckily it wasn't too deep so I didn't get my shoes wet.

For the whole ride, I got to start at a horses butt - fun times!

Heading into the forest

Know Before You Go

The ocean can be unforgiving so always swim between the flags
Take plenty of water in summer if you're heading on a walk or hike
Parking at Muriwai is free
The gannet attraction is free
You will need a permit to drive or park on the beach
Take a picnic as it's definitely worth spending the day here
Bring a camera!
The sand on hot summer days can be BLISTERING! You may need closed in shoes to get onto the sand as the sand still hit your feel in jandals

Mappy McMap Face

Getting There

Muriwai is around 45 minutes from the Auckland CBD, Manukau and Silverdale. It's a beautiful drive with native bush when you get into the Waitakere Ranges. It's worth driving rather than taking a bus as that would take a long time and you'd have to wait around before you could leave!

The entrance to the walks we went on were along Coast Road in Muriwai, it's easy to get to before you get to the main entrance to Muriwai Beach. The parking for these walks is on the corner, on the right - if you go right to the end of the road it will take you onto the beach and you've gone too far. There are a few parks on Coast Road but it can get full in peak seasons, especially with horse trucks as that's where they unload the horses and go trekking.

The main carpark at Muriwai Beach has plenty of parks but it can fill up quickly on busy days.

Conclusion

If you love the beach, forest and cliff walks then you have to check out Muriwai Beach. The sunsets are out of this world, the rugged coast is beautiful to look and and the walks are so diverse that there's something for everyone.

It's a short trip from anywhere in Auckland and it's worth spending the day here and even checking out Kitekite Falls or doing the Te Henga Walkway while you're in the area.