The Coromandel coast from the northwest tip of Mercury Bay to Whangapoua has several beautiful beaches, including Opito Bay, Otama Beach and Whangapoua. There’s also the stunning Jack Point Road, a short but high drive between Kuaotunu and Otama Beach. At the end of this section of coast is New Chums Beach, which vies with Cathedral Cove and Orokawa Bay as the most popular beach on the east coast.
Even within a region of stunning beaches like The Coromandel, this section of the coast is spectacular.
Kuaotunu
Kuaotunu is the gateway to this section of the Coromandel coast, and the last place with a shop and cafe if you’re heading north to Otama or Opito on the Black Jack Road. As with everywhere else on this coast, there’s a beautiful beach – in this case two beaches, directly accessible from the main road.
Black Jack Road
Black Jack Road is a steep, winding climb up the side of Black Jack hill, with several steep drops to the ocean. The road is unsealed in some sections, so extra care is required. Its best feature is several modest cliffside viewpoints, complete with tables, where you can safely park a car or two. The views are spectacular and it’s worth the drive for this alone.
Otama Beach
As you get to the bottom of Black Jack Road you’ll see the stunning Otama Beach. Drive to the hamlet at the east end of the beach to park. Because it’s a bit of a hassle to get to Otama Beach and there’s no significant adjacent holiday town, you’ll probably have this perfect east coast beach to yourself. Be careful if you’re swimming as there’s no surf patrol.
Opito Bay
To get to Opito Bay, follow Black Jack Road to its end. Opito is a modest holiday community with no shops, and the beach is set within a beautiful bay. At 6 km along, there’s plenty of space to spread out, even during peak holiday periods. At the southeast end of the beach there’s a short walkway to Opito Point, and swimming is relatively safe with generally modest surf.
Whangapoua
Continuing on State Highway 25 from Kuaotunu takes you towards Matarangi and Whangapoua, which are divided by Whangapoua Harbour.
Matarangi is a larger resort town with a lovely white sand beach, whereas Whangapoua is smaller and better known as the gateway to New Chums Beach despite being another beautiful and relatively safe east coast beach. At the northwest end of Whangapoua there’s quite a large coastal estuary, perfect for beach reflection photos.
New Chums (Wainuiototo) walkway
The walkway to reach New Chums Beach starts at the car park on the northeast end of Whangapoua. It takes about 30 minutes and is best outside high tide, but is certainly worth it. The walkway is gorgeous, following beside the tidal stream, along the stony coastal edge, then over a low saddle through a lovely grove of nikau palms down to the beach.
At the top of the saddle confident hikers can access a steep rugged climb up to the southeast end promontory with views along the beach.
New Chums Beach (Wainuiototo)
There are a few remote but fantastic New Zealand beaches that take some effort to reach – Cathedral Cove, Orokawa and, of course, New Chums beach. New Chums has the advantage (or disadvantage) of being a bit more remote, while also being the shortest and easiest walk.
All three beaches are lined with native bush, cliffs and mature pohutukawa trees, but only New Chums has the distinctive honour of being voted in the top 10 beaches in the world. It is not the safest swimming beach as there’s no surf patrol, but people do swim there anyway.
Want more Coromandel trip ideas?
Check out our recent posts about Mercury Bay, Hot Water Beach, Hahei and Cathedral Cove, Pauanui and Tairua, and Whangamata, Onemana and Opoutere.