Tāwharanui Regional Park

Tāwharanui is a peninsula ringed by a predator-proof fence, which makes it an open sanctuary — the birds are free to come and go, the rats and stoats are not. The result is a dawn chorus you will not hear anywhere else this close to a city of a million and a half people. Bellbirds, tūī, and if you are lucky the whistle of a kiwi after dark.

Anchor Bay is the beach, and it is a good one: white sand, clear water, and a headland walk at either end. The camping is behind the dunes, unpowered and deliberately basic, which keeps the place feeling like a park rather than a resort.

It is roughly an hour and a half from central Auckland, which makes it a realistic first or last night of a trip. Booking is required year-round and summer weekends go early. Bring what you need — the nearest shop is back in Matakana, twenty minutes away.