Muriwai beach is west of Auckland and about a one-hour drive from Puhoi. In short, this beach has breath-taking cliffs skirted by black sand and blue ocean. (The black sand contains enough iron so that you can pick it up with a magnet. In addition, it is so dense, that walking on it feels more like artificial turf than the sand that we are used to.) If the geography isn't strikingly beautiful enough, there is a gannet colony at the beach as well.
Apparently the surf can be quite rough and dangerous on the west side, so swimming is suggested only when lifeguards are on duty and only "between the flags". Even though the air temperature was only about 60F, the kids still insisted on wading a bit into the surf. After getting wet and cold, they enjoyed finding big sea stars.
In the summer we will return and take a proper swim. There are also caves to explore at low tide, which should be quite interesting too.
