East Auckland

Auckland – the City of Sails - is New Zealand’s largest City and most often your entry point for travel as a gateway to New Zealand.  Auckland has something to offer every traveller, whatever your tastes – from bungy jumping off the Sky Tower or Harbour Bridge, to enjoying superb food and wine – whether you’re looking for heritage and culture, or adrenalin inducing adventure, you’ll find it here.  The Auckland Region stretches from Okura in the north to the Bombay Hills in the south.

Travelling to the East of Auckland City takes you across the Tamaki River to the sparkling Eastern Bays of Bucklands Beach, Beachlands and Maretai and inland to the Historic village of Howick,  and the villages of Whitford and Clevedon on the edge of the Hunua Ranges.

Musick Point

Musick Point – beyond Bucklands Beach, at the tip of the promontory, this was a Maori stronghold until 1821 when a northern tribe descended on the district and decimated the local population.  The point provides spectacular views over the harbour.

Bucklands Beach

Bucklands Beach – located on the promontory that ends at Musick Point and the Howick Golf Course, Bucklands Beach is a beautiful east coast beach – a magnet for boaties, windsurfers and kite-surfers.  The local ferry at Half Moon Bay Marina has a regular service to downtown Auckland and to Waiheke Island.  The Bucklands Beach Yacht Club is very active and has a sailing academy for those wishing to learn.

Howick

Howick was named after the third Earl Grey, formerly Lord Howick, whose family home was Howick Hall in England.  An award winning tourist attraction, the Howick Historical Village, which is at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga.  Presenting the early Fencible settlement, the Village is New Zealand’s leading ‘living museum’ with 30 restored buildings of the 1840 to 1880 period.  The Fencibles were retired British soldiers who were offered free passage to New Zealand with their wives and families and were given a cottage and an acre of land in return for ‘protecting’ Auckland. 

Today, the town of Howick is a vibrant cosmopolitan village with a shopping centre of boutique shops, specialty stores, pavement cafés and an excellent choice of restaurants.  There is a connecting bus service from the ferry terminal at Half Moon Bay Marina.

The Pohutukawa coast is one not to be missed – this includes the tiny village of Whitford, Pine Harbour Marina, Omana, Maraetai and Beachlands.  The Pohutukawa coastal trail starts at Whitford and finishes in Clevedon taking about 2 to 3 hours by car.

Whitford

The country settlement of Whitford has seen European settlers since the 1840s and has maintained much of its rustic charm.  A ‘horsie’ region with stud farms, stables and a very active pony club, the village is a service centre for the surrounding farms and ‘life-style’ properties.  In recent times, the village has become known for the ‘Whitford Market’, which is held on the third Saturday of the month and is very popular, promoting local food, wine and arts and crafts.  The Whitford Country Club welcomes visitors for a round of golf and the Whitford Bird Garden is a sub-tropical paradise open on Friday and Saturday.  Ayrlies Garden is one of the best-known private gardens to view by appointment only.

Beachlands

The seaside settlement of Beachlands was originally settled in the 1920s as the “Marine Garden Suburb’ with many of the houses being weekend baches. It is now a bustling little seaside village community.  Nearby, Pine Harbour Marina operates a daily ferry service for commuters to and from the city with weekend services to Waiheke and Rakino Islands.  This busy marina offers a unique mix of marina, cafés, shops, picnic areas and sheltered beach.  Sailing charters are also available from the marina.

The long coastline of Beachlands is fringed with Pohutukawa trees and has three small, safe swimming beaches at Sunkist Bay, Shelley Bay and Green Bay.  Sunkist Bay also has a jetty, boat ramp and children’s playground.  At the western end of Beachlands is Motukaraka (Flat Island) where at low tide you can walk out to the island.

The Formosa Golf Resort is also at Beachlands offering a challenging PGA standard International course with breath-taking panoramic views of the inner Hauraki Gulf.

The Omana Regional Park is a working farm and has a basic camping ground, fantastic walks, safe swimming beach at high tide, picnic areas, BBQ and friendly farm animals.

Further around on either side of the headland are the settlements of Omana and Maraetai.  The land rises steeply back from the foreshore offering spectacular views from Auckland City round to the Coromandel Ranges.  Both settlements are popular for beach walks, picnics and fishing and safe for swimming.  The Maraetai Beach Boating Club is a very active boating club with a volunteer Coastguard/Sea Rescue Organisation.

From Maraetai, follow the coast to the little Maori settlement of Umupuia, also known as Duder’s Beach after the Duder family who have farmed the area since 1866.

Clevedon

Finally, we head inland to Clevedon, a village which has a lot of country charm with little shops, cafés, galleries and wineries all offering friendly kiwi hospitality.  The farmland around Clevedon is lush, rolling countryside with the Hunua Ranges providing a hilly backdrop to the south.

Clevedon is based on the Wairoa River.  In the late 1800s when the European settlers arrived, they used the River to ferry supplies and passengers to and from Auckland.  The Clevedon Steam Navigation Company was formed to ferry butter and cheese produce to Auckland.  Today, the area exports wine and Clevedon Coast Oysters.  Take a tour of the local wineries and enjoy some of the exceptional wines and local food on offer.

Clevedon is also home to the Auckland Polo Club, one of the first to be formed in New Zealand and you can see regular events at the Clevedon Polo grounds throughout the summer months.

There is a wide range of accommodation options from boutique luxury to camping throughout this region.