Black sand Ngarunui Beach, also called Ocean Beach, is Raglan's best-known surfing beach. It is known for its incredibly consistent surf, making it ideal for learning how to surf. You can also rent boards and wetsuits by the hour near the main entrance to the beach. Even if you don’t want to surf, it is a relatively safe place to swim for a west coast beach, with surf patrol from October to April and the relative consistency of the waves. Swimming in the surf is always safer on an incoming tide.
The road access to the beach is along Ngarunui Beach Road from Wainui Road, with the turn-off shortly before Manu Bay. This takes you to the top of the 60-metre high hills and cliffs above the beach that run along most of the beach, then down to the main car park next to the surf lifesaving clubhouse. From there, it is a 5-minute walk down a sealed path to the beach. Surf schools and surf rentals operate from this car park.
At the top of the hill is a large parking area with the Māori Four Compass Directions Sculpture. Each sculpture represents a compass direction associated with several European and Māori words. The sculptures are arranged in a circle, with a statue at each compass point and a panel providing the word associations of the statues.
Most of the beach is backed by cliffs and very steep hills. You can drive along the top for about 500 metres, with several parking and picnic areas. The views are amazing, especially during golden hour. Another walkway to the beach is popular with surfers at the last car park. You can also walk into Wainui Reserve, a 140-hectare farm park managed by the Waikato District Council, on marked tracks and into Wainui Bush Park from Wainui Road along the northern side of Ngarunui Road.
You can also reach Ngarunui Beach at the northeastern end of Riria Kereopa Memorial Drive. It is a 3 km walk from the north end of the beach to the southern entrance.
