Oreti Beach

Oreti runs about twenty-six kilometres along the Southland coast facing Foveaux Strait, and the sand is firm enough that vehicles have driven on it for a century - which is the reason it matters beyond being a big beach. Burt Munro used Oreti to test and tune the Indian Scout he later took to Bonneville, where he set land speed records in his sixties, and the story became the film The World's Fastest Indian. Locals still drive and ride on the sand, and it is a legal road, which means the usual rules apply and the usual hazards too: soft patches, incoming tide and the fact that people walk here. On a clear day Stewart Island is visible across the strait. The water is cold - this is the bottom of the South Island - and swimming is patrolled only in a small area in summer. The beach is also known for its toheroa beds, now closed to harvest.

What's there

• The hard sand - firm enough to drive, for twenty-six kilometres.
• The Burt Munro association - where the Indian was tested.
• Stewart Island - across Foveaux Strait on a clear day.
• The summer patrol - a small flagged area, the rest unsupervised.

When to go

December to March. Sunset over the strait is the local draw. Check the tide before driving on the sand.

Practical notes

Vehicles share the beach with people - watch for both. Soft sand traps cars and the tide comes in over the flat quickly. The water is genuinely cold and mostly unpatrolled. Toheroa may not be taken.

Nearby

Invercargill is inland; Bluff and the Stewart Island ferry are south-east.

Key facts