Black Sand Dunes
The Lake Waimamu area is a local hidden gem 30 minutes west of Auckland that hosts a number of cool free playgrounds. From the car park just off the long winding Bethells Road, a 20cm deep creek leads into an equally shallow estuary to the lake. Bordering this estuary are the Black Sand Dunes. They are steep enough to create an easy slide down on a boogie board. This is heaps of fun except for the constant climb uphill through the sand and the pain in your legs the next morning.
New Zealand is a land of volcanoes and its west coast is characterised by sparkling black sand beaches. The black colour exists because of volcanic minerals, mainly iron oxide, that are mixed with the sand. With the sun beating down during the day, it is impossible to stand on the sand for more than a very brief moment but the sparkling sand is a beautiful sight to behold. The Black Sand Dunes are made up of the same stuff and luckily it was cloudy when we arrived as it would not have been so much fun getting scorched when climbing the dunes.
Shallow water sliding
The estuary itself makes for nice sliding too as long as people on the boogie board are not too heavy (if they are, you’ll get sandbanked). It is easy to drag the little ones all the way back through the creek to the car park.