Matheson Bay Reserve — Attraction in Rodney

It's a nice and beautiful place with a good bathroom and good cold shower. I'm giving 1 star less than it deserves because they put a gate at the entrance that closes at night. It looks like having poor people sleeping around and causing no problem at all was just to hard for the community to tolerate. This is one of the worst things I've seen in nz. Most places are friendly only for those who have money. Countless times I reached places with bathroom where you can only spend a night if you have a fancy/expensive motorhome. There's a bathroom, so why would you need your car to have one as well? I guess people who sleep in their cars as a lifestyle are welcome, but not those who sleep in their cars because...

A great bay for a swim. Stronger swimmers may appreciate that the bay has a reef at its entrance. This protects the bay from swells and also is a great target for swimming out to 🙂

Plenty of trees for picnicking under and keeping parked cars cool in Summer heat 👍

Choose your journey timing carefully! Matakana is enroute, the main road turns into a carpark when the markets...

Lovely beach, car park usually full as it’s so popular, there is self contained Campervan parking overnight, but best to check with council beforehand as they do lock the gate if the ground is unsuitable/wet. The beach however is very safe for swimming being sheltered, there are good clean toilets and changing rooms too, plus some nice...