Beachcomb around Auckland

From the flat, calm beaches of the inner-city Waitemata Harbour to the black-sand surf cauldrons of the west coast, beaches in Auckland draw thousands of visitors for characteristically New Zealand days of lazing, sunning and swimming.

Within an easy drive there are dozens of beaches to suit everyone's tastes.

Here is Travel's choice of three beaches from The New Zealand Herald Guide to Auckland 2004.

LONG BAY, BEACH RD

The 110ha Long Bay seaside park is the busiest regional park in Auckland and has been developed around the most northerly of the North Shore beaches. It is 26km from the city centre and can be reached by a regular bus service. The park has a firm, long, sandy beach that is popular for swimming, and an extensive grassed area that is used especially by families and groups for recreation, picnics and barbecues. There is also a children's adventure playground. For those who prefer not to do-it-themselves, there is a local restaurant and beach shop. A coastal walk north takes you through farmland and along cliff-tops to two smaller sandy bays. The park also offers mountain-bike routes.

ONETANGI (THE STRAND)

Waiheke Island glamour spot. Sweeping, white-sand beach where the slope gives you good swimming even at low tide and the water temperature always seems a few degrees warmer than over on the mainland. Good bus service and taxi service from the Auckland ferry, bars for beachside recreation and a laid-back corner store/cafe where the big breakfasts are just the thing after an early-morning swim.

PIHA, PIHA RD

Popular black-sand and strong surf beach 45km west of downtown Auckland (surf-lifesaving patrols operate through summer). The beach is split in two by the huge mass of Lion Rock. At the south of the beach "the gap" produces fountaining surf through a blowhole. Swimming is recommended only in the areas patrolled by surf lifesavers as sea conditions can be hazardous. The name Piha means "ripple at the bow of a canoe". Episodes of the TV series Xena, Warrior Princess were filmed in the area - and you thought those trees, bush and ferns were native to ancient Roman times.

* For more top beaches, see The New Zealand Herald Guide To Auckland 2004 (Penguin, $16.95). Available at bookstores.