The Real Ninety Mile Beach - Oneroa a Tohe

The Tohe (90 mile beach) stretches from Ahipara in the south to past Te Paki in the North. The original and full name for the 90 Mile Beach is Te Oneroa a Tohe, which translates as The Long Beach of Tohe. Tohe lived over 1000 years ago.

From the southern end, Ahipara, forms a huge sweeping bay, straightening out just past the Waipapakauri on ramp. Heading north along the Tohe "The Bluff" a rocky area sticking out is the only "bend" on the Tohe. At high tide the Bluff can be cut off, forming an island. Just before the end of the Tohe is Te Paki stream, the most northern offramp and at the end of the Tohe is a parking area and steps leading up the cliff face.

When the tide goes out, it is easily as wide as a 10 lane highway (from the dunes to the low tide mark.) When the tide is low you can see out on the Tohe: Buses, local 4WD's, people fishing or looking for tuatua, hitch hikers, sometimes the police are out there making sure people are not speeding, locals, birds, marine life, and animals.

Quick Tips:

Here is a list of the main things that the locals do on the Tohe (90 mile beach).

Camping, surfcasting, picking tuatua (shellfish), dragging for flounder or mullet (depending on season and tides), surfing at the southern end, and of course using the Tohe as our main highway—but only try that when you have read and understand all of the Rules for Driving On the Tohe section :-)

Best Way To Get Around:

Taking a bus tour to the cape you will find that either going up to the cape or coming back from the cape the trip will take you along the Tohe. You can also drive on the Tohe, but DO NOT ATTEMPT THAT until you have read the Rules for Driving On the Tohe section. You can also tramp (hike), walk or jog out there.

At the northern end of 90 mile beach is a cliff with stairs going up. Climbing up here you can get great photos on the beach stretching south and dissapearing into the horizon.

Carry on walking along the cliffs, heading north towards Cape Reinga.

The photo gives you an idea of the sunsets along this stretch of coast.

After a while you will come to Te One I Rehia, a beach that has no road access, and meeting another person out here is rare. This is the first beach after the Tohe. Westerlies, blowing straight off the sea can make it hard to walk.

From this beach you walk through the dunes (or around them) and come to another beach, called Te Werahi (Twilight Beach). This beach is the one you can see on the west coast from Cape Reinga.

Walking along Te Werahi, you will finally come to Cape Reinga.

This can be done in a day, or you can camp along the way. The first water supply is at Te One I Rehia--the first beach--but it is hard to find. The next water supply is at Te Werahi, so it may be best to carry water with you.

The other photos in this entry shows the seascape from the cliffs, Te One I Rehia from the cliffs with nature in full glory--a storm coming in from the sea and the other photo is walking on Te One I Rehia.

Make sure you have a shovel with you—while you may not need it you would not want to be stuck without one.

If you see anyone in trouble stop and get out and help, the next time that could be you.

Do not speed out there—it is far more dangerous than any road and while it may look tempting to speed, the locals who often use this as an alternative road don't so that should tell you something.

Do not drive too close to the sand dunes—the sand is soft here and you will get stuck.

Do not drive in the water—there are waves known as sweeps that can rush in and literally sweep you away, sometimes you may be able to see the roof of a car buried in the sand.

Drive about half way between the soft sand and the water mark - following in others tyre tracks is always a good idea as you will be able to tell from their tyre tracks if they have hit soft sand—the tracks get deeper.

Sometimes there will be "speed humps" or "speed hollows" in the sand—take these at an angle as taking them straight on can cause the front axle to snap.

Sometimes there is bad corrugation in the sand, travel over this slowly.

Always take streams on an angle and make sure the angle is towards the dunes and not the sea, you don't want to find yourself caught in a sweep.

Keep an eye out for the wild life—often you can see penguins and other sea birds as well as sometimes sting rays and the occasional whale or shark stranded. If these creatures are still alive, help them back into the sea, or if you are hungry, catch them and eat them—fresh shark is absolutely AMAZING!

There are no lanes painted out there so you can pass oncoming traffic on either side, but the rule of thumb is which ever side they are going to naturally pass on, depending where they are drive, then let that be, do not change your mind at the last minute and try and get onto the other side.

Give way to all vehicles bigger than yours.

Never make any sudden sharp turns as you can flip, as the sand will create ridges and resistance. NOTE: if you are in a 4WD or SUV these can tip easier than a car—YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

There are many "off ramps" but only about 3 heading north for tourists, Te Paki Stream is the northern most one.

The locals use all of the others but we have the vehicles and know the terrain. You can keep an eye out for them—just look for where there are tyre tracks going straight up the dunes and disappearing

NEVER drive on the Tohe at night. Although the locals do it, we know the Tohe, we know the moods, we know what to do when the kohu (sea fog) comes rolling in and puts visibility down to zero and we know how to find the off-ramps. It is pitch black out there at night (unless the moon is out) as there are no street lights and it is easy for people who do not know it to get disorientated and end up driving straight into the sea.

When parking on the Tohe (90 mile beach) make sure that your vehicle is either facing the sea front on or facing away from the sea. Make sure that you DON'T park parallel to the sea, as those sweeps can take a vehicle easier when they are parked that way. If the tide is incoming, park facing away from the sea—you can make a fast get-away if you have to :-)

These Rules Apply To Te Oneroa a Tohe, Ninety Mile Beach Only, different beaches different rules!

Here is a map of the Tohe (90 mile beach) with the main on ramps marked. The solid red line is main road, the dotted red lines are metal road and the blue line is the Te Paki Stream. Cape Reinga and Kaitaia are on the map to help you get your bearings.

Te Paki Stream is the northen most off ramp on the Tohe - 90 mile beach.

Coming from the Tohe, here are the rules for driving the stream.

Stop on the Tohe and get out and walk to see where the stream runs.

Drive in about third gear up the stream, avoiding the water as much as possible. You will see that there are lots of places where it is only sand, aim for these and plan your route accordingly. If you need to stop, stop ONLY on the sand parts and not in the water.

When going from water to stream, or visa versa, go at an angle and not straight on.

You will notice the dunes on the left hand side getting higher. Sooner or later you will see in front of you two streams and bulrushes with no sand. Find a safe place to park then get out and walk--you need to see which steam is the deepest or if there is a side track that runs on the right hand side of the stream--sometimes there is and sometimes there isn't!

Once you have figured that out, get back into your car and get a good run up DO NOT STOP IN THE WATER and go for it! If you feel your car starting to slow down a lot, change (down) gear FAST but DO NOT STOP!!!!

Once through that part you will round the corner and see a toilet block by some grass. Go over there, then park and have fun on the dunes before moving on.

The Waipapakauri off ramp.
This is the easiest on ramp to find.

Head north out of Kaitaia, through Awanui and keep going until you see a sign on pointing to a road on the left saying Waipapakauri and 90 Mile beach. Take that road and after a while you will start to see the ocean peering through sand dunes and trees. Keep going until you get to the car park and STOP!

Get out and go and check the on ramp seeing where the tide is and what it is like. This is the west coast and can be wild--seeing a calm day out there is fairly rare, a normal day out there is about ½m high, waves about 20m apart. This is also the Tasman sea, so straight out is Australia.

It is best to hit the Tohe about 3 hours after the high tide, but just because you know when the high tide was it still pays to check as it could be a high tide and the water may not have gone out to far. Also, depending on currents and winds and moon pull, the surface can change from one tide to the next.
If you are in doubt about driving out there, DON'T DO IT!!!!

The Hukatere on ramp is north of the Waipapakauri ramp and south of the Te Paki ramp. It an easy one to gain access to.

Head north from Kaitaia for about 40 to 50km. You will see on the right hand side a motel called The Chalets. Just north of that is a sign pointing to the left saying 90 Mile Beach. This is the road that leads to the Hukatere on ramp.

If you pass a garage on the right you have gone too far.

The road will take you through the forest--it is a metal road.

You may see the wild horses while traveling through. If they are on the road, SLOW DOWN as soon as you see them and approach very slowly. This will give them time to get off the road. If there are foals and you don't slow down, the stallion will attack you--you have been warned! They can do damage to 4WD vehicles and a car is a lot smaller.

When you get to Hukatere, you will see a hill to the right. It is worth going up there for the sweeping views of the Tohe.

Calm Water--Danger or Death!
The Tohe (90 mile beach) is a west coast surf beach, and very rarely have we seen gentle waves lapping upon the shore--when we do it is a shock!!! Usually there are breakers rolling in with white tops.

If you are looking for a place to swim and see a place where there are no waves and the water looks calm, don't be fooled! These areas are usually rips and if you are caught in one, you can be taken out to sea.

To get out of one, swim parallel to the shore until you don't feel yourself being pulled out. Do not try and swim into shore when you are caught in the rip.
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Watch Children AT ALL TIMES When by Water
Watch children at all times when in or by the water.

If you have babies who are crawling, watch them at all times when in or by the water.

We have seen parents with their babies crawling along but not really watching them.

We have seen babies swept out by a sweep.

A baby is nothing to a sweep as a sweep can take cars.

A sweep is a wave that comes from no where and sweeps in then out, taking all in it's path. Although you may be 2m from the water mark, a sweep can come in and move easily 10 to 20m from the water mark. The shallow water or no water can become deep. Swift, powerful and strong, with no mercy.
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Shut Your Mouth When Going Down Dunes!!!
When going down the dunes, if you yell too much, you may find that you have a mouthful of sand, and it can take a while to get that crunchy feeling out of your mouth.