Other ways to explore Ripirō Beach

By horseback: Nardeen Nobilo from Baylys Beach Horse Treks takes riders on a range of adventures, from learner lessons in the paddock to sunset rides along the waterfront. On Facebook.

By 4WD: Leave navigating the beach to the locals by joining Olaf Raasch from Baylys Beach Beach Tours for a 4WD trip from Baylys Beach down to Poutō. Check out New Zealand's oldest wooden lighthouse (built in 1884) and play i-spy with seals, shipwrecks and dunes. baylysbeachtours.com

Drive & detour: There are several beaches along the coast that time seems to have genuinely forgotten — perhaps the breeze from the Tasman kept the winds of change at bay? There's often not too much to see, but that's part of the area's beauty. A long beach hazy with sea spray, driftwood, debris from old shipwrecks, maybe a campground, a few paint-faded baches and a dairy if lucky. Glinks Gully, Baylys Beach, Ōmāmari and Maunganui Bluff/Aranga Beach are all well signposted on the main highway. Expect some gravel roads.