Mangawhai rewards an early start more than almost anywhere else within two hours of Auckland. The cliff walk is exposed and unshaded, the ocean beach gets busy from about eleven in summer, and the kitchens fill up. Here is a Saturday that works with that rather than against it.

7.30am — Start at the Cliff Walk, not at breakfast

The Mangawhai Cliff Walk climbs out of the Heads and along the tops, with the harbour behind you and the Hen and Chicken Islands out to sea. Do it first: it is exposed the whole way and considerably less pleasant at one in the afternoon. The full loop comes back along the beach, which means the tide decides whether you can close the circuit — check it before you set out or you will be retracing the clifftop.

10am — Brunch at Sandbar

Sandbar Eatery in the Wood Street shops serves brunch and lunch seven days from 9am, which makes it the reliable option after a walk. Its menu leans on local produce and market fish. You will have earned it.

Midday — Swim on the ocean side

Mangawhai Heads beach is open coast, and it behaves like it. Over summer the surf club patrols it, and swimming between the flags is genuinely the advice rather than a formality — the rips here move. If the surf is up and you would rather float than fight it, the harbour side behind the spit is shallow, sheltered and much calmer.

2pm — The sandspit, carefully

The spit is a wildlife refuge and one of the last breeding sites of the tara iti, the fairy tern. In nesting season parts are fenced and dogs are restricted, and those restrictions are the reason the bird still exists. Walk the open sand, keep out of the roped dune, and take binoculars rather than getting closer.

6pm — Dinner at The Local

The Local, on the corner of Moir and Molesworth, runs from 9.30am until late every day except Tuesday, with small plates, pizzas and mains from 5pm and eight taps behind the bar. It also puts on live music, which is worth checking on their site before you plan a quiet night.

9pm — Give in to it

Mangawhai is a nine-o'clock-asleep sort of place out of season, and trying to make it otherwise is a waste of a weekend. Go to bed early. The cliff walk is better at seven in the morning anyway.