Getting to Mangawhai

 Driving to Mangawhai:

 ( approximately 110 kms north of Auckland and usually takes about 90 minutes )

Direct route:  Northern Motorway > Warkworth > Weyby Valley Road > Mangawhai Village ( takes approximately 90 minutes )

Click here to see this route marked on Google Maps

Scenic route:  This route is longer but more interesting and more relaxed.

If you're on a bicycle, this is the best way to travel north.

The road is unsealed in some places north of Goat Island but there is much less traffic and is okay if you drive slowly.

 Auckland to Orewa> Waiwera> pass Wenderholm Scenic Reserve> Puhoi Village > keep going west to ride over the hill to Ahuroa and turn back east on Woodcocks road to Warkworth >then head out to  Matakana > Leigh >

Goat Island > Pakiri > Te Arai > Mangawhai  ( takes about 3 hours by car - but take as long as you want on this route as there are lots of interesting places to stop on the way - especially in the summer and on weekends and holidays.

Click here to see this route marked on Google Maps

Cycling to Mangawhai from Auckland

If you want to avoid State Highway One, there are some alternative routes.
You can catch a ferry from downtown Auckland up to Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparoa Peninsula and ride from there via Orewa, Hatfields Beach, Waiwera and Wenderholm to Puhoi Village..    The new Puhoi-Warkworth motorway has taken a lot of the traffic off the old State Highway 1 since March 2023 so cycling this route might not be too bad now - there are some very big hills.  Alternatively  keep going west to ride over the hill to Ahuroa ( N.B. This road was badly damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 and might still be closed to MOTOR VEHICLES )  and turn back east on Woodcocks road to Warkworth >then head out to  Matakana > Leigh >Goat Island > Pakiri > Te Arai > Mangawhai .  This route is mostly on unsealed roads - but still watch out for speeding drivers . 

Get out of Auckland on the North Westerly direction to Highway 16 . Here's a route you could follow:

View To Mangawhai from Auckland for cyclists in a larger map

See 'Pedallers Paradise' - a guidebook for cycle-touring in New Zealand.