WE DIDN'T EVER EXPECT TO SEE HUNDREDS OF THESE IN THE WATER!
23 SEPTEMBER 2022
Wave sculpture at Marsden Bay Beach
One Of Our Favourite Hangouts
Marsden Bay Beach is located in the Whangarei Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. It's situated between One Tree Point Beach and Ruakaka Beach.
When we moved to Northland for a few months and stayed in One Tree Point, we had no idea how incredible the beaches were around the area and Marsden Bay Beach soon became one of our favourite hangouts.
The water is incredibly clear which means you get to see all sorts of sea life going on - we often saw hundreds of stingrays making their way out of the marine and into the harbour, which was an absolute treat!! We never saw anything like this in any Auckland beaches because the water just isn't this clear. We even saw an octopus swimming around!
It's a quiet beach, there was usually only one or two other people at a time when we went. The dogs we were looking after absolutely loved coming here and couldn't wait to get out of the car! They fetched sticks, sniffed out anything they could and went swimming.
When we moved to Northland for a few months and stayed in One Tree Point, we had no idea how incredible the beaches were around the area and Marsden Bay Beach soon became one of our favourite hangouts.
The water is incredibly clear which means you get to see all sorts of sea life going on - we often saw hundreds of stingrays making their way out of the marine and into the harbour, which was an absolute treat!! We never saw anything like this in any Auckland beaches because the water just isn't this clear. We even saw an octopus swimming around!
It's a quiet beach, there was usually only one or two other people at a time when we went. The dogs we were looking after absolutely loved coming here and couldn't wait to get out of the car! They fetched sticks, sniffed out anything they could and went swimming.
The clear water made it a lot of fun for the kids to explore
The beach offers a beautiful view of the Whangarei Heads
The beach has a view across to Mt Manaia and also the Marsden Oil Refinery
We Discovered Hundreds Of Stingray Patterns!
On one of our many adventures at Marsden Bay Beach, we were walking to the channel one day, we came across these diamond shapes in the sand. We didn't think much of them at first as there were often shallow holes filled with water at low tide, but when we realised that they were the shape of a stingray, that definitely caught our attention!
We looked around and realised there were HUNDREDS of these patterns, stretched along the whole beach towards Marsden Point! We had been to the beach many times at low tide and never seen this, so we're not sure if it's something to do with the tide that day or the stingrays or the weather not stirring up the sand - if you know the answer to this, reach out and let us know!
The patterns were really cool to look at, especially in the rippled sand, and the girls had fun jumping from one to another. It would have made an incredible photo from a drone!
Stingray burrow into the sand in shallow water, to remain hidden from predators, while they let their food settle - I guess their mamas also also taught them to rest for 30-minutes before swimming!
We looked around and realised there were HUNDREDS of these patterns, stretched along the whole beach towards Marsden Point! We had been to the beach many times at low tide and never seen this, so we're not sure if it's something to do with the tide that day or the stingrays or the weather not stirring up the sand - if you know the answer to this, reach out and let us know!
The patterns were really cool to look at, especially in the rippled sand, and the girls had fun jumping from one to another. It would have made an incredible photo from a drone!
Stingray burrow into the sand in shallow water, to remain hidden from predators, while they let their food settle - I guess their mamas also also taught them to rest for 30-minutes before swimming!
Each pattern was unique
The pattern on the sand framed the stingray pattern beautifully
The shallow water became home to lots of sea creatures zigzagging all over
We Had The Whole Island To Ourselves
Marsden Bay Beach is one of those beaches that has so much do it, it's hard to get bored! Kids can play on the playground, you can picnic at one of the many tables under the big trees, there's heaps of grass to chill on and there's the whole beach to explore.
When the tide's out, there's a little island you can explore on the right side of the beach. It's been built up by rocks and there's lots of flowers and grass growing on top. It's probably been created as a sea breaker.
The girls thought this was amazing to be on an island and we had it all to ourselves! Ok, ok, it was only a few meters long...but still. From up there, we could see the Blacksmith's Creek Walkway track we walked along and the beach we hung out on beside the track, which you can get to from Marsden Bay Beach at low tide. You can access pretty much all the beaches here at low tide, from another one!
When the tide's out, there's a little island you can explore on the right side of the beach. It's been built up by rocks and there's lots of flowers and grass growing on top. It's probably been created as a sea breaker.
The girls thought this was amazing to be on an island and we had it all to ourselves! Ok, ok, it was only a few meters long...but still. From up there, we could see the Blacksmith's Creek Walkway track we walked along and the beach we hung out on beside the track, which you can get to from Marsden Bay Beach at low tide. You can access pretty much all the beaches here at low tide, from another one!
Bella, Sienna and Jaxx enjoying the view across to Marsden Bay Oil Refinery
Tides out and what an awesome view of Mt Mania !
Be careful not to step on the flowers
So Much To Explore At Low Tide
Marsden Bay Beach is one of those beaches where you can explore when it's high tide and low tide. When the tide is right out, you can walk out into the harbour for a long way before it starts to drop off. From here you can discover stingray patterns as we walked about above and if you head along to the channel, you can even get scallops! There are loads of cockle shells on the sand when the tide is out, but we never saw any whole ones, it was literally just the shell.
You almost feel like you can walk over to the Whangarei Heads where Mt Manaia is located - it's a fantastic hike to do if you're in the area, with incredible views! It would be awesome if you actually could walk across as it wouldn't take that long, instead you have to drive an hour around the harbour to get there.
Low tide is the perfect time for the kids and dogs to get energy out and to see what you can find - keep an eye out for stingray patterns!
You almost feel like you can walk over to the Whangarei Heads where Mt Manaia is located - it's a fantastic hike to do if you're in the area, with incredible views! It would be awesome if you actually could walk across as it wouldn't take that long, instead you have to drive an hour around the harbour to get there.
Low tide is the perfect time for the kids and dogs to get energy out and to see what you can find - keep an eye out for stingray patterns!
The sand is covered in cockle shells
Sienna collecting cockle shells
There's so much space to explore at low tide
Our First Time Seeing An Octopus
The water is so clear, which makes it easy to spot any Mr or Mrs Octopus passing by. The one that we saw was a decent size and it was swimming from rock to rock, along the coastline. It was heading in shore, so we followed it long the grass bank until it was right by the shoreline and got in the water to have a closer look, hoping it didn't decide to cling on to our legs!
We were all really excited as it's not often you go to a beach and get to see one and we were amazed at how well the octopus camouflaged itself between the rocks.
Unfortunately, one of the dogs got into the water right by the octopus so it scared it away, but the coolest thing happened - the octopus took off and in a split second, it turned the colour of the sand! This was a great learning experience for the girls.
We only ever saw an octopus once at Marsden Bay Beach, but we definitely kept an eye out for more, every time we went. (We were lucky enough to see one when we were on the Smuggler's Bay Loop Track!)
We were all really excited as it's not often you go to a beach and get to see one and we were amazed at how well the octopus camouflaged itself between the rocks.
Unfortunately, one of the dogs got into the water right by the octopus so it scared it away, but the coolest thing happened - the octopus took off and in a split second, it turned the colour of the sand! This was a great learning experience for the girls.
We only ever saw an octopus once at Marsden Bay Beach, but we definitely kept an eye out for more, every time we went. (We were lucky enough to see one when we were on the Smuggler's Bay Loop Track!)
Where else can you get this close to an octopus?
We were very lucky to have seen an octopus on our visit to the beach
Can you spot the octopus?
It's A Moving Rock!
Stingrays are usually solo travellers, but when they're on the move they travel together as we witnessed at Marsden Bay. We couldn't believe our eyes when not one, not two, not 10, but hundreds of stringray came out of the marina and out into the harbour! We watched them for hours because when would we get this opportunity again?
At first, we thought they were the rocks in the water that looked like they were moving, but nope, they were indeed stingrays! They would come out of the marina and come along the rocks a bit towards the shore, realise that's not where they wanted to go, then went into the harbour.
Sienna and I got in, hoping they would come and say hi, but they swam away from us. We didn't want to get too close because it's important to respect their space but if they came to us, then that's fine. We met a lady and her kids the week prior and they got in with them and the stingrays came up to them and played around a bit - so cool! I tried to get some underwater videos but even though the water looks super clear from above, it just didn't look that clear underwater.... boohoo!
If you do get in with stingrays, do the stingray shuffle! Shuffle your feet along in the water, rather than taking steps - this will alert any nearby stingray that you're there and they will feel the vibrations and move along.
At first, we thought they were the rocks in the water that looked like they were moving, but nope, they were indeed stingrays! They would come out of the marina and come along the rocks a bit towards the shore, realise that's not where they wanted to go, then went into the harbour.
Sienna and I got in, hoping they would come and say hi, but they swam away from us. We didn't want to get too close because it's important to respect their space but if they came to us, then that's fine. We met a lady and her kids the week prior and they got in with them and the stingrays came up to them and played around a bit - so cool! I tried to get some underwater videos but even though the water looks super clear from above, it just didn't look that clear underwater.... boohoo!
If you do get in with stingrays, do the stingray shuffle! Shuffle your feet along in the water, rather than taking steps - this will alert any nearby stingray that you're there and they will feel the vibrations and move along.
The stingrays were easy to spot because the water was so clear
Sometimes they looked like the rocks
3 Stingrays just gliding along
Yarrrr Me Mateys, It's A Pirate Ship Playground
Down Marsden Bay Drive, it's a one way road so it's easy to spot.
It's a pretty new playground.
Grab a coffee from the Land and Sea Cafe in Marsden Cove.
It's a pretty new playground.
Grab a coffee from the Land and Sea Cafe in Marsden Cove.
The playground is located beside the carpark
Is there any better view from a swing, than from here?
It's not a full beach experience if there's no playground stop!
Know Before You Go
- There are toilets beside the carpark
- There are no rubbish bins here so take your rubbish home with you
- The stingray come out for the marina into the harbour at high tide
- It feels like you can walk out for miles when the tides in. It's lots of fun, just mind yourself by the channel where the boats come in and out
Mappy McMap Face
Getting There
If you are heading up from Auckland for the day, it's a little bit of a hike, but its a nice drive. You're looking at approximately 2 hours to get here. If you are passing through heading North or South and you want to just quickly stop in, it's only 7 minutes from the State Highway 1 turn off ( you'll see Bream Bay GAS station at the big roundabout ) It's only 7 minutes from there.
Conclusion
Marsden Bay Beach is the perfect place to relax and unwind - it's not a super busy beach and the fact that the water is shallow for so long, makes it perfect for swimming with little kids and also paddleboarding. It offers fantastic views of then Whangarei Heads where Mt Manaia is located.
If you get there at high tide, you may be lucky enough to experience stingray and octopus!
If you get there at high tide, you may be lucky enough to experience stingray and octopus!
Gallery of Marsden Bay Beach
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More to do in Whangarei
MT MANAIA TRACK
NORTHLAND Your blood will be pumping after climbing 1000 stairs to reach the summit. You will be rewarded with incredible views over the heads. |
WHANGAREI FALLS
NORTHLAND A powerful 23.6m high waterfall along the Hatea River in central Whangarei. These falls will blow your mind. Remember your raincoat! |
WHANGAREI QUARRY GARDENS
NORTHLAND A subtropical garden set in an old quarry which has been planted by volunteers. Escape to the tropics with this magical place.
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