Ninety Mile Beach

Ninety Mile Beach is a concatenation of linked together beaches in the northwestern part of the region of Northland, in New Zealand. It is named for its enormous length, which, while not the ninety miles that its name suggests, is very extensive.

Geography and location
Ninety Mile Beach is located within the district of Far North. Its coordinates are lat 34°43′S, long 172°56′E. Its southern end is located eight kilometers west of the town of Kaitaia, while its northern end is eight kilometers south of Cape Maria Van Diemen, which is the furthest point west on North Island and one of the most northerly in New Zealand.

Ninety Mile Beach is bathed in its entirety by the waters of the Tasman Sea, and the beach occupies almost the entire western coast of the Auopori peninsula. It is bordered along its length by large sand dunes, which can be up to 150 meters high and several kilometers wide. Most of these dunes are moving, as are those of the deserts. This is different than those in the south, where shrubs and herbs set them. A series of lakes, located up to forty feet above the sea level, is at the inner edge of the dunes.

The length of the beach, in reality, is not ninety miles (approximately 145 km) but only 55 miles (88 kilometers). There is no written record of the origin of the name of the beach, but there are theories that say the name comes from the first missionaries who crossed it on horseback. The theory is that they calculated the length based on how long they had taken to get through, about three days, which, at 30 miles (50 kilometers) per day would total 90 miles. By not taking into account the slower speed of the horses in the sand, the total length of the beach was miscalculated.

Because of its exceptional length, the beach came to be used as a runway for takeoff and landing for regular airmail services between Australia and New Zealand during the decade of the 1930’s. Currently the beach is not passable by motor vehicles, though it is used as an alternative to State Highway 1, either for tourism or when the main road is cut off by floods or landslides.

Driving on the beach can be dangerous however, because the weather and sea conditions can change suddenly and catch the cars in the sand. The car rental companies generally do not allow access of its vehicles to the sand.

There are five entrances and exits at the beach for motor vehicles, and warning signs are posted at most of them. The signs warn of the danger of driving on the beach, and that one does so at one’s own risk. The signs include a set of rules to keep in mind in order to operate as safely as possible. This includes not entering the area with your car from two hours before until two hours after high tide.

Entertainment
Ninety Mile Beach is a popular tourist destination in northern New Zealand. As passable, there are many buses running through it full of tourists, and also private cars doing the same.

The dunes that surround it are higher than those in the south, providing the visitor a stunning desert landscape more typical of other latitudes. Due to their high altitude, the dunes are sometimes used to practice bodyboarding.