In our second piece on the North Shore Coastal Walk/Te Araroa, we’re covering Rahopara Point to Murrays Bay. This part of the walk includes a historic pā site and spectacular viewpoint above the Rahopara Point, followed by a cliff top walk into Kennedy Park.
There’s a memorial to John F Kennedy in the park and a historical gun emplacement, but the steep set of stairs down the side of the cliff to the rocky beach and reef below are the real attraction. You can then walk around the cliff to Red Bluff, then on to the city beach at Campbells Bay. Two further city beaches at Mairangi Bay and Murrays Bay are easy walks on well formed paths below the cliffs.
While you can alternatively also get around the base of Rahopara Point from Castor Bay at low tide, the cliff top views and stairs down from Kennedy Park are a must do highlight of the North Shore Coast Walk.
Rahopara Point and Kennedy Park
From the north end of Castor Bay beach, you can follow sealed path up to Rahopara Point. The path becomes an easy grassed track across the old pā site, and leads to the superb viewpoint on Rahopara Point, which looks back down the coast. You can just pick out Auckland downtown beyond the small number of Takapuna highrise buildings, and it’s also a great view point for Rangitoto.
From here, head north along the cliff top track into Kennedy Park. The views continue to be excellent, and are often framed by ancient pohutukawas hanging off the top edge of the cliff. The view of the yellow and orange reef as the tide goes out is also interesting. You can clearly make out the series of parallel rock formations that follow the coast and then point towards Rangitoto.
The stairs down the side of the cliff to the beach and reef will be obvious as you follow the track. They are apparently popular for people exercising; there was a woman halfway through her twentieth lap of the stairs when we walked down.
Rahopara to Red Bluff at low tide
It’s hard to describe how unusual this section of the North Coast is. The steep cliffs are inherently interesting with various twisted shapes and curves in the rock, and there are a couple of graffitied WW2 gun emplacements that are crumbling away. Another has collapsed completely and is now a wreck on the beach.
The beach is a mix of sand and rocks, and you can walk out onto the reef as the tide goes out. The way in which the reef formations point to Rangitoto is a highlight.
As you walk north towards Red Bluff, the beach becomes rockier and it ends up looking like a series of rocky tracks running down the beach. In places, the cliff is almost a mirror image of these tracks.
Red Bluff
Red Bluff is a large, red-orange rocky shelf and point just before Campbells Bay Beach. It’s a popular spot for fishing and was quite spectacular as golden hour approached.
One of the features of the North Shore Coastal Walk is the variation in rock formations and cliffs. Red Bluff is completely different in look and colour to the eroding cliffs below Rahopara and Kennedy Park. The cliffs and rocky foreshore formations continue to change again as you head north.
Campbells Bay
Campbells Bay is the first of three pretty city beaches between Red Bluff and Tatarata Point. All three are safe for swimming, and the track linking the three beaches is flat, easy and popular.
The sand at Campbells Bay is particularly lovely with a strong golden tinge. There is also a pretty reserve behind the beach at the south end, bounded by a stream. A feature of the beach used to be the 6 bronze penguin sculptures. There is a photo here, but they have since been subject to theft!
Campbells to Murrays Bay walk
This section of the North Shore Walkway is flat and easy, running below cliffs with Mairangi Bay beach in between. It is a pretty and popular walk for locals, and arguably the easiest section of the entire Te Araroa.
These photos were taken shortly after high tide on a calm day, so it probably makes sense to avoid until the tide starts to go out, especially if the weather is less amenable.
Mairangi Bay
The beach at Mairangi Bay continues the theme of golden sand, although the colour is not quite as striking as at Campbells Bay. There is a surf club facility and they do put flags out, although I presume it’s mainly to encourage kids to swim where they can be seen.
A reserve runs down the full length of the beach, so it feels slightly less suburban than Campbells Bay. There is also a town centre about two blocks back from the beach, so it’s an easy walk to local cafes and shops.
Murrays Bay
Murrays Bay is another short, easy walk below the cliffs from Mairangi Bay. It feels more like a bay, as there’s a sharp curve from north to east. At the northeastern end, Murrays Bay is bounded by Tatarata Point. You can get around the point at low tide, or the other option is a path that goes over the point then back down to the beach just below Rothesay Bay.
The beach is another attractive, safe city beach, bounded by a reserve. There is also a long jetty at the north end, popular for fishing and jumping into the sea.
Rock formations and cliffs
Interesting shoreline rock formations and cliffs are a feature of the entire North Shore Coastal Walk, but the section between Campbells Bay and Murrays Bay is almost entrancing. Once the tide is out, you will see a series of modestly sized rock platforms that run from the path down to the shoreline, sometimes interspersed by golden sand. But almost all of these platforms are different in both form and colour, having been eroded and smoothed to take on their own individual form.
As you can see, we got a bit carried away with our rock shots!
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