Mangawhai Heads is a small beach settlement on the east coast of Northland, at the mouth of the Mangawhai Harbour about ninety minutes north of Auckland. It is essentially a long curve of white sand backed by low pohutukawa-covered dunes, with a sleepy village strung out behind it. For most of the year it stays quiet, but at New Year the population multiplies as Aucklanders descend on the bach colony.
The main draw is the surf beach on the ocean side, which is patrolled in summer and reliably good for swimming and bodyboarding. On the harbour side, a tidal estuary fills and empties through a narrow channel — at high tide you can launch a kayak; at low tide the sandbanks are exposed and the channel rips through. The walk over the Mangawhai Heads Walkway connects the two and gives the best views of the coast, with a steep climb to a clifftop lookout above the harbour entrance.
Nearby, the Mangawhai Cliffs drop straight into the Pacific, and the small township of Mangawhai further inland has the pub, a few cafes, and a Saturday morning market. The whole area is part of the same wider community — Mangawhai for groceries and a beer, the Heads for the beach.