Weona Reserve is a small mangrove-fringed walking track in Westmere, entered from Meola Road or Weona Crescent and managed through Auckland Council's parks network, with a 4.4 rating from 45 reviews. Walkers describe a quiet, easy on-leash dog walk with a short boardwalk over the mangroves — regulars say keep left on the path — and it is at its best around sunset.
Mangrove boardwalks change completely with the tide: at high water the creeks fill and wading birds move close, at low tide it is open mud. It pays to check a tide chart first, because the same track can be two different walks. These reserves are protected habitat, so dogs stay on the lead, and a slow pace is rewarded: herons, crabs and small creek life are the real draw.
A pocket of tidal shoreline between Westmere and Grey Lynn, Weona Reserve rewards anyone who times their visit to a rising tide.