Muriwai Regional Park sits in the Muriwai Valley at Rodney, on Auckland's west coast, and holds a 4.8 rating on Google. Good regional parks earn their keep by keeping a landscape open to everyone: walking tracks, lookouts, picnic spots and enough space that even a busy weekend never feels crowded. On this stretch of coast the extra draw is the famous gannet colony at the headland, viewed from clifftop platforms and at its liveliest from spring to early autumn when the birds are nesting. Regulars treat the weather as part of the outing — the west coast is exposed, the surf runs strong, so summer swimmers stick to the patrolled flags, and the black sand holds heat and gets into everything. Set where the Muriwai Valley runs down to the sea, this park puts that wild shoreline within easy reach of Auckland.