First in, best dressed at wealth of Auckland's fine regional parks

On a given day at the beginning of every summer there used to be a ritual outside the city office of Auckland Regional Parks.

A long line would form of people wanting to get in early on the ballot for a camping spot at one of the region's parks.

Modest camp fees and proximity to home - family camps while dad commutes to work - probably had much to do with queuing.

But the major reason is that our regional parks are the sort of places that all those drained brains stuck in London, Tokyo or New York dream about and would queue for days to get one brief visit.

As the Regional Parks people put it, when you live near Auckland you don't need to get away to escape. Most of the 22 parks in the network are within an hour's drive from the city.

They no longer have a ballot system or queues on the footpath. It's first in, best dressed with your bookings which can be made up to six months ahead. But, in fairness to others, there are restrictions on how long you can stay.

At campsites that you can reach by vehicle the maximum number of nights is seven, except at Shakespear where you can stay for 14 nights.

At backpack sites, where you have to go on foot or by boat, you can stay put for up to 14 days.

The campsites, like the parks themselves, offer a tremendous variety of family holiday experiences. There are family walks that at some places include well-marked nature trails where even the smallest of trampers can enjoy the magic of nature, sandy beaches, rocky foreshores, clear streams and thick native bush.

Not all parks have camping facilities but all offer heaps of opportunities for family activities.

Tawharanui, 90km from Auckland, is the most northerly and one of the more diverse of the coastal parks.

The 588ha peninsula just north of Kawau Island has a golden sand surf beach on its northern shore and a protected, rocky coast to the south.

The northern coast is a marine sanctuary where fishing is prohibited but you can fish from the southern shore.

A third of the park is farm pasture but there are also stands of native bush and a major regeneration programme is under way. The park has several walking tracks, a track for mountain bikes and an ecology trail.

The vehicle-based campground will take up to 260 people. Caravans are not permitted but up to 10 self-contained campervans are allowed. The park has no backpack campsites.

Mahurangi East and West have vehicle-based, backpack and boat access campsites.

The Sullivan's Bay (Otarawao Bay) site, reached by vehicle, is one of the most sought but can take only 40 people plus 10 campervans. Mita Bay, inside the harbour, is a backpack site for 40 campers that is also popular with sea kayakers. Across the harbour at Mahurangi East, the Lagoon Bay campsite can be reached only by boat.

Kayaks are also a good way to get to the warmth of Te Muri beach, where Bruce Mason's The End of the Golden Weather was filmed. You can also get to the site by walking across the Te Muri Estuary at low tide.

Wenderholm at Waiwera was the first of the regional parks and remains the benchmark on which most are judged. It has excellent bush walks as well as a long sand beach and an inner harbour foreshore that gives kayak and boat access all the way to Puhoi.

The vehicle-based campsite will take 40 people and up to 20 campervans. Caravans are allowed.

Shakespear, at the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, allows campers to stay for up to 14 nights.

The park has three beaches to choose from and its campground at Te Haruhi Bay will accommodate up to 120 people and 20 campervans. Caravans are allowed on the site.

Waitakere Ranges parkland, as befits a bush area renowned for its walks and tramping tracks, is mainly backpack campsites. Some of these are quite close to roads but water may be from a stream and the toilets non-flushing.

There are two backpack camp sites at Huia, three at Whatipu, three at Karekare, two at Piha and two at the Cascade/Kauri area.

There are facilities for campervans at the Arataki centre on the Scenic Drive, at Huia, Cornwallis, Piha and the Cascades and commercial campgrounds at Piha and adjoining the Muriwai Regional Park.

Whakanewha, the new park on Waiheke Island, has a campsite for 40 but offers no shade or showers.

Awhitu, on the Manukau Harbour, has a well-developed campsite, as does the Omana Regional Park near Maraetai. Caravans are allowed at Omana and the campsite is nicely wooded.

Tawhitokino, on the Firth of Thames, has a backpack campsite that is reached at low tide. The beach that greets you is worth the effort.

Tapapakanga, further south, has a large vehicle-based campsite as well as a remote backpack site.

Waharau also has a vehicle-based and remote site. The backpack site is one of the more isolated, reached after a four-hour walk up the Waharau-Whakatiwai Ridge track. The track links with the Hunua Ranges where, as in the Waitakeres, there are several remote campsites.

Costs: Vehicle-based camping in the northern parks costs $8 an adult a night and $3 a child from December 1 to February 28. Outside of that period the cost is $5 an adult and $2 a child. The year-round cost at other parks is also $5 an adult and $2 a child. Backpack sites cost $4 an adult and $2 a child year-round. If camp sites are not prebooked the costs increase by $1 a head.

Contact: Parksline ph (09) 303 1530 for information and reservations.