Tunnel Point Campground — Hotel in Waitākere Ranges

I would have given this five stars but... Firstly the campground is great. Tucked away from exposure, cool location and easy to get too. However, the council directions to get there are terrible. I walked for 90 mins until I stumbled on it - there is no sign posting or clues as it is not visible from the beach. As for 20-30 mins. Nope. It took me 20 mins when I left just to follow the track back to the beach, then another 30 along the surf line and back to the carpark. It might be 30 mins if it was hard packed and you weren't carrying camping gear but it's at least half loose sand and slow going. I found that if I walked about 1/2 as far again as it is from the surf club end of Karekare Beach to the off-shore rock, then there is a flat area (almost a dry estuary) that leads into the cliffs. Head in there and on the right hand side the Hillary Trail. Follow that. Hopefully the pics help...

We transitted Tunnel Point on our way to Parahaha Valley to check out the new walkways and bridges. These were, by the way, amazing and such an improvement over swamy tracks and river wading! Tunnel Point is a short level walk along the beach from Karekare and continues to be a nice place for a picnic. Read up on the history before you go and imagine digging that Tunnel with pick and shovel. We were not camping this time but if we were would be tempted to walk on another 45 minutes to the awesome...

It's a campsite on a swamp, so -1 star because of the bugs. Has a composting toilet and a tap for untreated water. It's a great location, the campsite is quite isolated but not very difficult to walk to and is teeming with native wildlife. Bring a tent, bug spray, and something to boil or filter your water and you'll have...