Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach sits below the forested ridge of Bream Head at the eastern edge of the Whangarei Heads peninsula. The drive out takes about thirty minutes through Onerahi and around the harbour to where the road meets the dunes. After the bush road in, the wide east-facing sweep of sand with Bream Head looming above the southern headland feels a long way from the city it belongs to.

The wave is a working beach break. Several banks line up along the length of the beach, shifting with the sand from season to season. On a clean E or NE swell with a westerly behind it the banks throw faster, more punchy waves than most of the sheltered harbours nearby. It is not the most consistent spot in the region, but when it works it stays much quieter than Sandy Bay an hour to the north.

• Ocean Beach faces directly east so it picks up swell from a wide window, but the same exposure makes it the first to shut down when the swell gets oversized. The sweet spot is a clean E swell at waist to head height with a westerly behind it. Outside that envelope, drive back over the peninsula to a more sheltered bay on the harbour side
• Walk before you paddle. The banks shift through the year and the best peak of the day can be a few hundred metres from where the path drops onto the beach. The southern end nearer Bream Head is usually less crowded on a busy day, and the Bream Head Scenic Reserve track at that end is a strong flat-day option, two to four hours return depending on which loop you take
• Dog-friendly under control. Standard WDC rule applies: between 20 December and 31 January, dogs only before 9am or after 5pm. The rest of the year they're welcome

• Whangārei Heads Volunteer Surf Life Saving Club patrols Ocean Beach through the summer months, and they have been a fixture on this beach for decades and know the rips well, so when the flags are up, swim between them and surf clear of the flagged zone.
• Strong rips form between the sand banks, especially after a big swell rebuilds the beach. Scout the water from the dune before paddling, and pick a peak with a clear channel
• Phone reception drops out in the bay itself. Surf with company and let someone know your plan, especially outside patrol hours
• Exposed east-facing beach, so an oversized swell will close it out faster than the more sheltered harbours nearby. If conditions look too big, drive back over the peninsula to the harbour side

Getting there

Ocean Beach is about 30 minutes east of Whangārei, out through Onerahi and around the harbour on Whangārei Heads Road, then signed off near the road's end, sealed all the way.

Parking

Public car park behind the dunes. Short walk to the beach. Fills in summer holidays and on big swells, with overflow on the verge of the access road. Free.

Toilets & showers

Public toilet block at the carpark. There is no outdoor surf shower, so plan to rinse off back in town or at your accommodation.

Shops, cafes & fuel

No shop at the beach. Stock up on food, water and fuel in Onerahi or central Whangarei before the road in. Whangarei has full supermarkets and petrol stations.

Accommodation

Small holiday community of beach houses at the back of the beach with limited rentals. Whangarei 30 minutes for motels and the full range, Tutukaka 40 minutes north for a different base.

Camping

Freedom camping is banned at the Ocean Beach overflow carpark under the Whangarei District bylaw, the council addressed this after years of conflict at Whangārei Heads. Closest paid sites are at Tutukaka or Whangarei.