Christmas Beach

Christmas Beach's playground is built around a weathered timber ship with "HMS Herald" carved on its bow, a nod to the vessel that gave Herald Island its name.¹ The play area sits on a grassed coastal reserve on the island's northern shore in Auckland's Upper Waitematā Harbour,² with old pōhutukawa along the water a few metres away.

Equipment

The ship is the main event: a two-level deck with a mast, rope net ladders, climbing holds and a wavy slide off the stern. Joined to it is a timber fort with side-by-side wavy slides for racing a sibling. Beside them a tall galvanised frame carries a row of swings, including toddler bucket seats, and there is a blue spinning pole. The surface is bark chip.² It is a compact set that suits toddlers to about eight better than older kids.

Access and Inclusion

The playground is not fenced. The Terrace runs along one side behind a low post-and-chain edge and the beach is a few steps away on the other, so toddlers need watching both ways. Dogs are banned on the playground and must be on a leash everywhere else in the reserve.² A concrete path runs past, but the bark is hard going for wheelchairs and buggies.

History and Cultural

The island was known as Wood's Island and then Pine Island before it took the name of HMS Herald, the ship that carried William Hobson to New Zealand. Its Māori names include Motu Pākihi, and in the 18th century it was a seasonal bird-snaring home for the Waiohua chief Kiwi Tāmaki. By 1922 ferries were bringing picnickers out from the city.¹

Practical Info

Toilets, an electric barbecue and a drinking fountain are grouped at the western end of the beach, with picnic tables by the barbecue and playground. The toilets open 7am to 9pm in summer and 7am to 7pm in winter.² Parking is on the road only, and reviewers find it tight.² There are no shops on the island, so pack lunch.³

Come at high tide. At low water the bay drains to mudflat, and past a short strip of sand it is mud and sharp oyster shell. Kayakers and paddleboarders launch from the small boat ramp opposite 75 The Terrace.² The pōhutukawa give picnic shade, but the play area has no shade sail.

The reserve is on the 2.7 km Herald Island Path loop, and Herald Island Domain, the island's other playground, is up the steps between 53 and 55 The Terrace.⁴