Walk status: Off-lead
Ohawe beach is just a short 8kms west of Hawera and due to its rocky shoreline typically isn't frequented by large amounts of people due to its lack of suitable swimming areas. It therefore makes the perfect option for a dog friendly beach, and the dramatic coastline makes it visually worth a visit.
Arriving at Ohawe beach, you can park the car in a carpark area situated at the top of the cliffs. This gives you a stunning view of coastline, and its always worth a scan of the ocean to see if you can see whales. I'm constantly on the hunt and they seem to frequent this area of the coastline often, so you just never know if you'll be lucky enough to spot something. Sadly it wasn't my day, but the beach didn't disappoint.
Once parked up you'll want to walk back down and follow the road that leads directly to the beach. Its a very rocky beach, so watch your footing. Some areas its more dense than others, and looking at both ends, George and I headed left as it looked to be a little clearer. It's also worth noting that we arrived at the beach around 1.30pm and low tide was due around 4pm. While there was beach to be able to walk on, the water still seemed quite high so best to check you're visiting near low tide, otherwise you might find you have no beach to walk. I've put a link at the bottom of the page to the tide times.
Walking the beach you get to enjoy stunning views of the clifftops and a interrupted ocean view. The water can be a bit rough, and especially with many hidden rocks under the surface, its worth considering whether your dog is a good swimmer to manage it. George did take a paddle, but was more interested in sniffing the trail of footprints left by other visitors and playing with rogue pinecones.
Ohawe Beach forms part of the Coastal Walkway. You can find details of the walk at Venture Taranaki here. Note dogs are required on lead past Ohawe Beach.
You can find details of Ohawe tide times here
You can find details of New Plymouth tide times here
Location: Rangatupu Street, Ohawe
Plenty of parking in the carpark on the cliffs
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