Matiatia Bay is a sheltered bay on the east side of Waiheke Island. The ferry service from Downtown Auckland docks there, and there is a bus stop and car and bike rental services. To the south of the Ferry Terminal is a sandy beach, although the regular movements of people and the ferry probably make it less attractive. Both sides of the bay have steep hills up to 80 metres above the bay.
You can walk directly to Oneroa alongside the road from the Ferry Terminal or take a path through the regenerating native forest that runs south of the road. Walk down the beach to the Atawhai Whenua Reserve and find the signs that point east to Oneroa. There are three parallel dirt tracks – Low, Medium and High. The tracks then become two - Low and High - about a third of the way to the town. Allow about 25 minutes to get to Oneroa.
The more interesting and longer option is to walk a section of Te Ara Hura (“Discover the Way”) to Oneroa. The 87-km loop track covers much of the island and starts and ends at the Ferry Terminal. To access the track, you can either head northwest from the terminal along the coast to the northern head of the bay or walk along the beach to the south and then follow the track to the southern head. With fabulous views as far as Auckland City, both tracks follow the coast before heading towards Oneroa.
