Karaka Lakes is also the starting point for many rural places to enjoy and discover in the immediate surrounds and further a field. The traditional Karaka Sports Club—with rugby, tennis, cricket, netball, athletic, restaurant and pub facilities—located virtually around the corner.

Pony clubs and other equestrian facilities are located in Papakura, Alfriston, Pukekohe and Clevedon.

The wild coastline of the Awhitu Peninsula, or the more serene Pohutukawa Coast and uncrowded swimming beaches, are easily accessible.

The rural Clevedon Village with a variety of specialist shops is just a 20 minute drive away.

Fresh produce, weekly farmer’s markets, award-winning wines, Italian country markets, quaint country eateries and miles upon miles of peace and quiet start just outside your front door.

What Shall We Do Today?

• Join the Karaka Sports Club
  (Blackridge Road, Karaka. Tel 292-7588) A traditional country style sports club offering rugby, cricket, tennis, netball and athletics. Or sign up as a general member to enjoy the bar and restaurant facilities and get to know the locals. Franklin Council have decided to expand this popular facility from 10 acres to 42 acres, making it a substantial multi code facility. The local Karaka Bowling Club is next door, as is the Karaka War Memorial Hall and adjacent Play Centre. Pilates classes for adults and athletic instruction for children are also available.
• Have brunch or lunch at St Margaret’s Country Garden Café
  (adjacent to St Margaret’s Church, Dyke Road, Karaka) And enjoy the traditional English gardens. Metro-award winning as the Best Café in South Auckland, rumour has it the French Toast and Country Breakfast are to die for. Other eateries to consider include the Red Shed (right off the main Drury/Pukekohe Highway) and Two Fat Cows in Drury.
• Join the fisherman, or kayak around, the Hingaia Bridge
  Pop next door and watch the best of New Zealand’s bloodstock being sold at the Karaka Bloodstock Centre.
• Launch the boat for some exploration and fishing on the Manukau Harbour
  There is a public boat ramp at Bottletop Bay in Oaklands Road, another at Clarks Beach and a 24 hour boat ramp at Waiau Pa.
• Take a dive at the Massey Park Aquatic Centre
  (2 Ron Keat Drive, Papakura) It has been recently remodelled and has an Olympic pool outside as well as recreational pools inside for the kids including a wave pool and slides.
• Join The Recreation Centre
  (294 Great South Road, Papakura) Take advantage of holiday programs, after school care, gymnastics, Kids Fitness classes for the children. For you think about aerobics, yoga, Karate, Tae Kwan Do, basketball, indoor netball, table tennis or dancing. Includes Gym facilities. Other local gyms are Creo Fitness in Elliot Street and Ray’s Gym, both in Papakura.
• Take a step back in time by visiting The Papakura Museum
  (28 East Street, Papakura) The facility traces the city's history back to Papakura's first settlement in 1847, and includes a record of the military presence that has been here since the 1860s.
• Stop by the Sir Edmund Hillary Library
  Located at 28 East Street in Papakura. On offer are over 80,000 items including books, large print magazines, audio books, videos, DVDs, compact discs and sheet music.
• Tally ho at the Pakuranga Hunt based at Karaka.
  Hunts are held twice a week over South Auckland farms during the winter months. (Further afield think about joining the very traditional Maramarua Hunt Club).
• There are two racing stables in Karaka Westbury and Stonebridge.
  Karaka is blessed with wonderful instructors including Olympic Gold Medallist – Blythe Tait. Abderry Stables, run by well known equestrienne Cheski Brown is located on the Glenbrook Road, just before the Kingseat Road intersection.
• Play golf at Pukekohe
  (State Highway 22, Wattle Downs) or Clark’s Beach Golf (100 Stevenson Road, Clarks Beach) Clubs. Or simply practice your long game at Twin Oaks Driving Range (994 C State Highway 22).Over and above these courses, some equally excellent ones are located within easy driving distance

  Courses to Consider

  • Auckland Golf Club
    Hospital Rd Otahuhu Auckland
    Auckland
    Sun - Sat 7:00am - 7:30pm
    Ph: 09-276 6149
  • Awhitu Golf Club
    A delightful, picturesque 9 hole course. Irrigated greens with sheep grazed fairways. Brook Road Big Bay Road, RD 4, WAIUKU
    Ph: 09 235 0280
    Email: awhitu@paradise.net.nz
    
  • Maramarua Golf Club
    Enjoy the peace of the countryside, only 30 mins south of Manukau City. State Highway 2, Maramarua, R.D.1. Pokeno
    Ph: 09 232 5702
    Email: maramarua@paradise.net.nz
    
  • Onewhero Golf Club
    Picturesque, gently undulating course with tree lined fairways and challenging greens. Cnr Main & Churchills Rds, Pukekawa PO Box 89, TUAKAU
    Ph: 09 233 4828
    Email: onewhero@golf.co.nz
    
  • Pakuranga Country Club
    A well established, gently undulating course with tree lined fairways and challenging greens. A great course for golfers of all abilities. 199 Botany Road, Howick PO Box 38-165, Howick, AUCKLAND Ph: 09 534 3818
    Email: pakuranga@golf.co.nz
    Website: www.Pakuranga.NZGolf.net
    
  • Papakura Golf Club
    A 9 hole public course with driving range, golf shop, and hire equipment. 29 Bellfield Road PO Box 39, PAPAKURA
    Ph: 09 298 1497
    Email: papakuragolf@paradise.net.nz
  • Waiuku Golf & Squash Club
    Bounded by the Manukau Harbour, 40 minutes from Auckland. Free draining soil allows play daily all year. Racecourse Road, WAIUKU
    Ph: 09 235 9489
    Email: waiuku@golf.co.nz
    Website: www.nzgolfcourses.co.nz/waiuku
    
  • Wattle Downs Golf Club
    A delightful 9 hole course with superb harbour views, well mown fairways and excellent undulating greens. Wattle Farm Road Extension, Wattle Downs, Manurewa, AUCKLAND
    Ph: 09 268 1929
    Email: wattledowns@golf.co.nz
    
• Visit the historic town of Patumahoe and stop at Wrights Watergardens and Restaurant
  (128 Mauku Road, Patumahoe) for a walk among the water lilies and waterfalls (open from September to early Autumn)
• Go shopping and have lunch in two of New Zealand’s most delightful country towns
  Pick between Pukekohe and Clevedon.
• Go wine tasting, have lunch or get married at Vin Alto in the Clevedon Valley
  (424 Creightons Road, Clevedon). A number of other wineries are located in the general area including Karaka Point in Waiau Pa, and Inverness in the Ness Valley near Clevedon.
• Some outstanding restaurants are within sensible driving distance from Karaka Lakes
  These include Monarchs in Pukekohe, Bracu (signposted after turning left off the Bombay offramp), Chin Wags in Clarks Beach, and Roberts @ 47, 47 Queen Street, Waiuku, the Clevedon Café, Corner North and Kawakawa Bay Roads, Clevedon.
• Catch one of New Zealand’s most electrifying 3 Day Horse Trials at Puhinui Reserve
  Or watch the New Zealand Polo Open in Clevedon (held
• Go horseback riding at Twilight Ranch
  (Twilight Road, Clevedon).
• Polo lessons for the kids.
  Does your child love horses? But it's too expensive or too difficult to have a horse in your own backyard? Well the In GoodTime HorsePark SaddleClub has the answers to fulfil your CHLD'S dreams and YOURS!

  Enrol your kids aged 3-11 years in the In GoodTime HorsePark SaddleClub. The kids are matched up with a miniature or small horse and they learn how to care for the horse, the gear as well as learn how to ride. Based in Karaka just 5 minutes from the Papakura Motorway (exit 458).

  Contact Lyndsay on 09 291 9153

• Teach your kids sailing at the Clarks Beach Sailing Club
  
• Spend a day at Kariotahi beach on the wild West Coast where you can ride horses, walk your dogs or simply go surfing
  
• Learn to fly, or take scenic flights, from New Zealand’s second busiest airport, Ardmore, at the start of the Clevedon Valley
  
• Enrol your school age kids in Polo lessons at the Clevedon Polo Club
  Learn to play Polo yourself! Clevedon Polo Club, Kawakawa Bay Road, Clevedon. Lessons are available from November to March.
• A whole world waits in the Hunua Ranges Regional Park
  The place to be if you like outdoor action and adventure. The park features remote experience tracks to test your bush skills, through to mountain bike tracks to test your fitness. There are a wide range of tracks from gentle easy walks that cater for the young and old of all abilities through to tracks for the experienced tramper. Discover the swing bridge and the spectacular 4 huge dams and enjoy a scenic picnic at the waterfalls.Or you could just relax with a picnic by Hunua Falls and enjoy the scenery. The Hunua Ranges covers approximately 16,000 hectares and contains the largest block of forest on the mainland of the Auckland Region. Although many large stands of native trees like kauri, matai, kahikatea, tawa, rata and rimu were logged last century, they are now regenerating successfully. Contact the Hunua Parkland Information Parks line on 09 903 1530 for more information.
• Visit Awhitu Peninsula out west—stopping on the way in the historic town of Waiuku
  Take a quick detour to Kariotahi Beach and then travel up to South Head. Even think of stopping by for cooking lessons from Master Chef Gottfried Meier—see what is on the menu at www.citropia.co.nz
• Continue on from Clevedon out into Kawakawa Bay and Orere Point
  If you have a passion for oysters, stop at the Clevedon Oyster Farm—half way between Clevedon and Kawakawa Bay.
• Continue on to Miranda and stop for Fish and Chips
  A dip in the Hot Springs and visit the Wild Bird Information centre. On the way home via State Highway 2, take a detour for lunch or dinner and stop at Hotel du Vin www.hotelduvin.co.nz. You may want to pamper yourself at their luxurious spa before considering all the options.
• The boating gateway to the Coromandel and outer reaches of the Auckland Harbour and Hauraki Gulf is located at the end of Kawakawa Bay
  
• Take a trip to Port Waikato
  See where New Zealand’s longest river ends its journey.