A day in Auckland’s Shakespear Regional Park

After moving to Auckland in 2013, I promised myself I will discover it's every corner. 

Regional reserves and parks were on the top of my to-do list as I am a real nature lover.  One day I had a look further up north from Central Auckland, looking for a peaceful and relaxing place.  And there was a Shakespear Regional Park.  I had another look at google maps, memorised interesting spots and decided to go there without reading any extra information.

The drive from Auckland was only 40- 50 minutes on the Northern Motorway.  After passing by Whangaparoa, the last town before entering the reserve, I realised this area has much more to offer than just Shakespear Park.  I stopped the car in a very large car park next to the beach.  It was an Army Bay, a perfect place for a great walk.  After seeing some rocks in the distance, I started heading towards the east.

It was amazing to see volcanic rocks creating perfect concentric circles. I started going further and further while taking astonishing photos.

I walked for an hour before turning around to come back.  High tide was coming and coming back to the beach was a smart move.  At that moment I realised how lucky I was to come to the beach at the low tide and enjoy all these magnificent rocks.  I couldn't see them otherwise.  Usually, high tide covers all the rocks and most of the beach.
 
I let a happy feeling follows me straight to the Te Haruhi bay in Shakespear Park.  There was another nice car park there and the beach was right after.  I really liked the whole area, covered with the bright green grass, trees with so much space to picnic.

However, I decided to go straight to the beach and admire an amazing city view.  The Auckland skyline was right in front of my eyes while I was collecting shells and high tide was coming.  While waiting for the water level to comes up, my eyes were going towards every direction.  I had a look at my left-hand side. There were a great hill and an amazing hiking opportunity.  The decision to climb the hill was the best one.  I saw some sheep, native birds and the view overlooking the city and the ocean was breath-taking.
 
As the day was coming to an end, I decided to start heading back home. Looking at the watch told me, the roads will be jammed.  Avoiding driving roughly between 4.30-6.30 pm is really preferable.  Therefore, I made a stop in Gulf Harbour, had another walk down the marina followed by dinner.  There are few restaurants and cafes in the area for everyone.