Country roads: Back-road way to the beach

You have decided to pack the family in the car and go out for the day. But where? The holiday traps north of Auckland to Orewa and Whangaparaoa are over-populated at this time of year.

And going to the Omaha-Snell's Beach area on State Highway 1 is just as bad.

So go south. Take the southern motorway to the Papakura exit, then cross back over the motorway and head for the de-commissioned Kingseat psychiatric hospital.

The Manukau Harbour has many safe beaches, although some planning is needed if you want to be there at full tide.

So check the tide table if you are planning to go swimming as it is a long way to walk out to get wet when the tide is out.

The first of several beaches to check is Clarks Beach, reached via Waiau Pa.

Then follow the signs to Waiuku, or detour off the main road to Glenbrook Beach and the impressive looking Glenbrook Steel Mill, which has all its iron ore black sand pumped from Maioro on the northern side of the Waikato River Heads.

From Glenbrook go into Waiuku, where you have the option of heading up the Awhitu Peninsula or going to Kariotahi (Sunset) Beach.

This is one for the surfers and is usually not nearly as crowded as the likes of Piha and Muriwai, although the conditions are very similar - hot black sand and the waves pounding in from the Tasman Sea.

The Awhitu Peninsula has several beaches worth a look.

At the Awhitu Regional Park and Grahams Beach it's a longish walk to the water when the tide is out. But Big Bay and Orua Bay should be treated with greater respect because of the current flowing through the Manukau Harbour heads entrance.

At the top of the peninsula is the South Head lookout, from which you can look down on the sandbar at the entrance to the harbour which claimed so many ships and lives in the 19th century.

From several places you can look back to the Auckland city skyline - only 25km away as the crow flies, but a world apart from the rural peninsula.

Most roads on the peninsula are sealed, but don't expect wide highways.

The topography is rugged and the roads reflect that - the tarmac has simply been applied to what were narrow, twisty gravel roads 20 or more years ago.