From the DoC carpark, follow the no-exit Bream Tail Road (like a private driveway) as it climbs up hill through farmland offering spectacular views of the coast. Please leave farm gates as you find them. Use stiles where provided.
After 1.8 km, you leave the road & follow markers across pasture to reach another tarmac driveway (part of a subdivision). Turn right for a few metres then it’s back into pasture and down a SE spur, across a marshy area at the bottom, then straight up by the bushline and over a steep hill. Follow the well-benched track that then zigs NE down into a bush gully (kauris galore) then zags up the other side to come out at another section of tarmac driveway. Just over the bank on the other side of it is DoC’s Mangawhai Walkway. Turn right/south and follow the track along the cliffs and down to the beach. Continue along the beach to the carpark at Mangawhai Heads.
 

Extensive amenities – shop, phone, toilets & accommodation in the surrounding Mangawhai area – Wood St shops, Moir St village & various.