The North Shore Coast Walk is a section of Te Araroa. Today’s portion of the walk runs from Murrays Bay to Winstone Cove, taking in Rothesay Bay, Browns Bay and Torbay. Each bay is separated by coastal cliffs, but you can walk around the bases at low tide. There is also a cliff top path between Murrays Bay and Rothesay Bay, which has lovely viewpoints and a pleasant reserve at the northern end.
All of the bays are suburban, popular with locals, and easy to access, with attractive and safe swimming beaches. The two main coastal points – Tatarata and Tipau – are worth the visit even if you’re not walking the entire coastline. Both have substantial rocky platforms and colourful eroding cliffs, which is a strong theme of the entire coastal walk.
Murrays Bay to Rothesay Bay
From the north end of Murrays Bay beach, there’s a path to the top of the cliff face. The path follows a narrow reserve between the edge of the cliff and the houses that dot Tatarata Point for about 10 minutes, before dropping down to Churchill Reserve. There are several excellent viewpoints along the way.
Below the reserve there’s a gap in the cliff with a path down to the shoreline, with a “fairy grotto” to the left. You can then head south back to the point, or north along the coast to the beach at Rothesay Bay. Alternatively, you can get around the base of the Tatarata Point cliffs at low tide.
Tatarata Point
Tatarata Point separates Murrays Bay and Rothesay Bay on the North Shore Coast Walk. It’s another example of the colourful eroding cliffs, topped by pohutukawa trees, which are a feature of the walk. There’s a multi-layered rock platform right on the point, which is perfect for a break and even for a jump into the sea.
Exploring the area is best done at low tide when more of the platforms and rock pools are exposed. Oddly, it feels quite remote, even though the point is covered in houses.
Rothesay Bay
From Churchill Reserve, walk along the coast below the cliffs to the relatively modest suburban beach at Rothesay Bay. The beach is backed by a reserve, and is another example of a pretty north east coast, Hauraki Gulf beach. Being enclosed by the gulf makes for little surf and safe swimming. As with the other nearby beaches, there is plenty of orange and gold in the sand.
Browns Bay
Browns Bay beach is a short walk below the cliffs from Rothesay Bay. The beach is quite long for a northeast coast beach, with a strip of reserve between the beach and some very modern shops and apartment buildings. The beach is well sheltered in the Hauraki Gulf and safe for swimming.
There are a couple of oddities in the reserve, including the WW2 anti-aircraft gun, which is part of a memorial, and the curious example of a pohutukawa that has grafted itself onto an exotic pine tree.
From the north end of Browns Bay beach there’s a steep path that sidles up the cliff face to the top of Tipau Point – this path has great views. It’s then a short walk along a suburban road to Torbay and Waiake Beach. You can also walk around the point at low tide to get from Browns Bay to Torbay.
Tipau Point
Tipau Point sits between the beach at Browns Bay and the Torbay cliffs, which end at Waiake Beach. The point has colourful and interesting cliffs and rock platforms, with great views from the flat platform right on the point. Like the platform below Tatarata Point, this is a good place for a break and a swim.
You can walk around the point from Browns Bay at low tide, but it’s generally easier to access it from Waiake Beach. Pohutukakwas and the odd view of a house dominate the clifftops.
Torbay Cliff Walk
From Tipau Point, you can follow the rocky coastline below the cliffs to Torbay and Waiake Beach. The cliffs provide their own interest, and there’s a bonus yacht wreck about halfway to the beach.
This is also a good walk for rock pools as the tide goes out and interesting, often orange to red rocks. There was also a fair bit of sea glass in the sandier sections, if you like collecting such things.
Torbay Waiake Beach
Waiake Beach is a concave beach with a reserve separating it from the main road and the suburb of Torbay. The short section of cliff, with several large, mature pohutukawas, is quite striking. At the north end, Deep Creek enters the beach; it would be quite deep, but crossable, at high tide.
The beach is sheltered and safe for swimming, and has the added feature of a small attractive island, The Tor, at the northern end of the point. You can easily walk to the island at low tide.
Winstone Cove
If you follow the coast north from Torbay at low tide, you can easily access Winstone Cove. This is a mostly rocky cove with some small sandy beaches. It has the advantage of being a bit more separated from the city suburbs than the other bays and beaches on the North Shore Coast Walk. From there, you can continue on at low tide around Toroa Point to Long Bay and its regional park.
