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 Muriwai
Muriwai Beach
The most northern of the West Coast beaches Muriwai is a long expansive stretch of sand. While it lacks the rugged backdrop of its southern counterparts Muriwai has its own charms. There is good surfing, a gannet colony, rock fishing and a good café. Muriwai is a popular weekend destination. The beach itself is a legal road so don’t be surprised to find yourself sharing the sand with trucks, motorbikes, land yachts, as well as surfers and sun bathers.
Get out of town!
Take the north western motorway (highway 16) and follow it until it ends. Turn left (this is still considered to be highway 16) and follow this through the township of Kumeu. At Waimauku turn left onto Muriwai Road. After awhile turn right into Motutara Road and head down the hill to the beach. Easy.
Just past the turnoff to Muriwai Beach there is a large pine forest called Woodhill. This is a popular place for mountain biking and also the home of the awesome Tree Adventures. Check them out if you fancy swinging a bit of a Tarzan 
Travel Times:
It will take you just under an hour to get to Muriwai.
Accomodation
The Muriwai Beach Motorcamp is a good place, located close to the beach and with clean facilities. If you want an easy overnight close to the city this would be a good option.
Food and drink:
There is a good café near the beach, which sells a variety of food and drink.
 See the Gannets
Must see!
Over 2000 gannets hang out here at the Muriwai Gannet Colony over summer (August to March) and it is pretty cool to watch how they interact with each other. Be warned they are not known for their pleasant smell. There are excellent information boards to tell you more about these graceful birds.
To see them, take the track at the southern end of the beach near the impressive Shore Cut Platform fishing spot. This will lead you over the headland to Maori Bay. Along the way there are detours to a number of lookouts. A couple of these provide excellent views of the Muriwai Gannet Colony.
If you want to see the gannets make sure you go during the right season.
Other things to do at Muriwai Beach:
- Walk northwards along the beach – the beach is seemingly endless and nobody we know has ever made it to the end. So if you make it that far send us a postcard and tell us about it. We will inform your friends and family that it may be awhile before they hear from you again!
- While there is often good surfing at Muriwai beach, most people head over to Maori Bay because it tends to attract a slightly cleaner wave. As always be careful here and if swimming stay between the flags. Behind Maori Bay you can see some impressive pillow lava formations. If you haven’t surfed before and would love to give it a shot NZ Surf Tours run excellent “learn to surf” packages to Muriwai and many other locations.
- Grab some food from the café and hang out in the sun.
In the Muriwai area :
- Woodhill Mountain Bike Park – see the mountain biking section .
- Tree Adventures - also in Woodhill Forest this place has a crazy offering of challenging and fun activities which take place 3 - 14 metres above the ground. Great fun!
- There are a number of good wineries in the area. Maybe a bit of wine tasting to end the day and start the night? Try Coopers Creek winery for starters.
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