Directions

Coming into Karamea from the south, the first settlement is Market Cross – turn left from Market Cross on to Waverly Street and head out towards the airport on the main road to the Heaphy Track, Turn left on to Flagstaff Road at the junction of Waverly Street and the Karamea-Kohaihai Road (this is also the road to the airport. Follow the road to the end.

Flag Staff Beach walk

A walk south or north along the white sands of Flagstaff Beach between where the mighty Karamea and Oparara rivers...

...join the turbulent Tasman at any time of year is an enjoyable and refreshing experience.

This is not a beach for swimming, the currents and rip tides make swimming inadvisable. It is a beach for walking, and admiring stunning views of the forested mountains of the Kahurangi National Park to the west, the wind-swept coastal cliffs to the south, the Kohaihai bluff at the beginning of the Heaphy Track looking north, and east, the relentless pounding surf of the Tasman Sea.

Flagstaff Beach is in constant flux, continuously being changed by the action of the ocean, wind, tides and season, each visit is a new experience. The beach is sometimes covered in a deep layer of fine white sand, which a storm may remove to reveal tumbled round rocks in myriad colours. Huge driftwood logs carried down flooded rivers suddenly appear washed up on the beach and then vanish again overnight. Seabirds scurry along the sand and squawk overhead as they search for dinner, each season bringing different breeds. The beach’s only constant is the solace and peace to be found from the experience of walking its length.

The Flagstaff beach car park is a 5-minute drive from Karamea township. The white sand is perfect for building sandcastles with the kids, surf fishing and beach combing are permitted, but net fishing is prohibited.