Everyone in my family enjoys going somewhere when we get the chance, especially when the weather is good. We have two kids: Anuli, our seven-year-old daughter, and Banula, our four-year-old son.
With Labour Weekend approaching, my wife Madhusha suggested a trip that all of us could enjoy. The kids wanted to go to a beach. We considered the Coromandel, but felt we’d need at least one night there to enjoy it without rushing. This time, we wanted a day trip, so we settled on Mangawhai. We’d visited the Bennetts chocolate factory recently, but hadn’t explored much else in the area. With some help from ChatGPT, we planned our stops.
We left our home in central Auckland around 8 am on Saturday 24 October 2026 and reached our first stop, Te Ārai Point Beach, around 9:40 am.
Te Ārai Beach
The last couple of kilometres to the beach were along a dusty, unsealed road. It was our first time driving on a road like this in New Zealand, and the car ended up covered in dust. Another car was following us, and I felt sorry for the driver having to travel through the dust cloud we were kicking up. I hope the road gets sealed one day.
There was plenty of parking, and it wasn’t busy when we arrived. We found toilets and a water fountain near where we parked. There’s also a nearby council camping area for certified self-contained vehicles, rather than a tent campground.
The sky was gloomy, so the water didn’t have the blue colour we’d hoped to photograph. Still, it was a wide, white-sand beach with only a few people around. I wondered whether it gets busy in summer (or even later in the day). The kids played for a while, we took some photos, and then we left for our next stop. We’d planned only a short visit, but wished we’d had some sunshine for the photos.
Mangawhai Tavern Market
Mangawhai was much busier. People were wandering around with their families, and cars lined the roads. We passed the Mangawhai Beach Market on our way to the Mangawhai Tavern Market. Having two markets running that morning might have explained some of the crowds. The car park near the Tavern Market was full, but luckily someone left just as we arrived. The market is open 8.30 am to 1 pm each Saturday.
The market had plenty of stalls to browse. The kids wanted some goodies from a stall selling 3D-printed items. We also noticed lots of people carrying popcorn, which led us to the 3 Monkeys Kettle Corn stall. It was the best popcorn we’d ever had. We paid $20 for two medium bags, which felt reasonable.
The popcorn was large and round, unlike the popcorn we usually buy, and tasted sweet and salty at the same time. I later found out that 3 Monkeys uses mushroom-variety kernels, which explains the shape. We enjoyed it a lot.
There were other food stalls and handmade crafts too. One stall selling baked goods had a queue. The kids wanted strawberries, so we bought some before leaving. They were big, sweet and delicious.
Mangawhai Activity Zone
Our next stop was Mangawhai Activity Zone, a park with several play and recreation areas. It had a large car park and toilets. We arrived around noon, and although there were plenty of families, it didn’t feel packed.
The kids still had energy, so we stayed for a while. They spent most of their time in the sandy playground, climbing the towers and using the slides. There was a play ship and a flying fox (a zipline) too.
Nearby, we watched some confident kids showing their skills on the pump track. Anuli wanted to take her scooter onto it, but I was a bit nervous because the other kids were riding quite fast.
The park also has bike and walking tracks, a basketball court and other sports areas, though we didn’t explore them all. I’d recommend it if you’re visiting Mangawhai with kids.
Lunch
By then, the kids were tired and hungry, so we drove back towards the village for lunch. The village wasn’t as busy as it was earlier, possibly because the markets were closed by that time. After parking and having a look around, we spotted Dot India.
We found the food tasty and reasonably priced. We ordered a prawn meal and chips for the kids, and naan, chicken tikka masala and biryani for us. It turned out to be too much food, so we took the biryani home.
Madhusha remembered enjoying mango kulfi at another Indian restaurant. When we saw it on the menu, we ordered some. It was delicious, and the kids enjoyed it too.
Mangawhai Heads Beach
After lunch, we drove to Mangawhai Heads Beach, arriving around 3 pm. The beach car park was large but full. After a couple of laps without finding a space, I dropped off Madhusha and the kids and went looking elsewhere.
The nearby roads had parking restrictions, so I ended up on Pearl Street, roughly an 800-metre walk from the car park. I also noticed a campground nearby while searching for a space.
The beach was lovely, though much more crowded than Te Ārai. The sand was white and gold and wasn’t muddy at all. The kids had a great time playing and building sandcastles, and we took some photos of the views. Near the car park, we found washing and changing facilities and toilets. Being able to rinse the sand off our legs before leaving was a relief.
When we were ready to leave around 5 pm, spaces were starting to open up in the car park. We all walked back to the car on Pearl Street and started the journey home.
Other places in the Mangawhai area
We didn’t visit Bennetts of Mangawhai this time because we’d been there recently. They sell handmade chocolates in lots of shapes and flavours, which the kids enjoyed choosing from on our earlier visit. There’s a glass viewing area at the back of the shop where you can see into the factory, although production didn’t seem to be running on the Saturday we visited. There’s a café too, if you want to stop for food or coffee.
We also passed Mangawhai Museum, but didn’t go inside.
What other places would you recommend in the area? Let me know in the comments.
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