Directions

Take State Highway 67 from Westport north towards Granity, Ngakawau, Hector and Karamea. There are a number of access points to the beach the main two are Beach Road at the end of the Fairdown Straight (illustrated on map) and turning off before reaching Granity at Jones Creek Road and You will need to drive a short distance to the beach.

Birchfield/Fairdown Beach

If you like beaches with no one else on them, you’ll love Birchfield and Fairdown Beaches.

There are just a few houses here set back from the low bank over which lies the beach.

At low tide it is sandy and you can walk for miles – breathe in the clear air and marvel at the high plateau behind the beach, forested, craggy, and awesomely steep.  Up on top is Stockton Mine some 2,000 feet up – and New Zealand’s largest open cast coal mine.

This is a pet-friendly beach so horse-riding and dog walking is fine.  Do make sure you clean up any animal poo to keep the beach nice for everyone – and ensure you leash your dog if others are on the beach.

This is a great spot for surfcasting when wind and weather allow.

History of Birchfield

The settlement was established by the Griffiths Brothers about 1888. Local industries included a large foundry, a sawmill and a flaxmill.   Notice the stumps as you wander along the beach – all are ghosts of huge forests from the past.  The forest would have come right down to water’s edge here.

When these industries were in their heyday the local population was much larger and there was a sizeable school here.