While locals will happily argue for their favourite, given the number of beaches around our long coastline, there are a handful of beaches that always float to the top of the conversation.
From small rocky bays to wide open expanses of blinding white sand, each beach is well worth the journey. Abel Tasman National Park has an unfair advantage, a surfeit of golden sandy bays.
Sitting at the northern tip of Abel Tasman National Park, is a beach that locals have long wanted to keep a secret – it’s that good.
Best approached by road from Tākaka (you can get there via water taxi too), Tōtaranui Beach is something to behold – a shallow curve of the most golden sand you’ll ever see, extending a mile south to the National Park.
Often voted New Zealand’s favourite beach, Kaiteriteri is well-known to generations of Kiwis as the quintessential beach experience.
Only 45 minutes drive from Nelson, the beach is a summer mecca for visitors and locals alike. Its golden sand curves easily around this bay, which is filled with swimmers, water skiers, boaties, and cruise boats heading to Abel Tasman National Park.
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If you go as far as you can go to the northwest of our region, at the base of one of the world’s longest sandspits, you’ll arrive at Wharariki Beach. A short walk from the farm carpark, the area’s raw and rugged beauty is immediately apparent, especially on a less-than-sunny day.
At the right times of year, seals flock to the nooks and crannies of the beach, and pups play in the river out back. If you choose to swim, be extremely careful with the sizeable waves coming directly from the Tasman Sea.
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Tāhunanui Beach is a go-to for Nelson City residents and visitors – swimming, easy walks with the dog on the back beach, for kitesurfers when the winds are right, and for paddleboarders when it’s calm and still.
This oasis is 5 minutes from the city centre, and when you’re not out on the sand, there’s the café, the fun park, kid's playgrounds and even a zoo!
Awaroa Beach is something else. This is a stretch of sand in Abel Tasman National Park - golden sands that in summer can gleam the purest white, crystal waters lapping at the beach – that is so good it led a group of Kiwis to buy a portion of it for the nation.
With the Awaroa Lodge to the south and the Awaroa Inlet to the north, Awaroa is a dynamic place full of local history, track walkers, yachties, and boaties—a great mix of locals and visitors in this special bay.
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