Ōreti Beach

Oreti Beach is a coastal playground just minutes from Invercargill's city centre. The beach is a wonderland for families to adrenaline junkies and everybody in-between, with plenty of opportunities for motorbiking, 4-wheel driving, wind-powered vehicles, horse riding, dog walking, kayaking, surfing, swimming and paddling, sandcastle building, shell collecting etc.

It is a popular recreational asset and cyclists are often spotted riding along this wide, sandy beach. Setting out from the Dunns Road entrance, mountain bikers can ride as far as Riverton, although the most popular loop is from Dunns Road to Christies Track, and back along the Oreti River Walkway/Cycleway. Riders can also pop into the Sandy Point Mountain Bike Park along the way.

The beach is often described as a "coastal highway" as it is one of the only beaches in New Zealand that vehicles are allowed to drive on. At around 26 kilometres in length, the beach provided Southland's motorcycling hero Burt Munro with a testing and racing site for his modified Indian motorcycle. In February 1957 Munro set a New Zealand Open Beach record of 131.38 mph at Oreti Beach; in 1975 he raised this to 136 mph. Oreti Beach was a key location for the film The World's Fastest Indian, which tells the story of Munro.

So come and drive right onto this famous beach to explore, play, witness stunning sunsets on long Southland summer nights and a perfect spot for stargazing.

This trail is considered a Grade 2 - Easy trail based on the Kennett Brothers grading system which is widely used by New Zealand riders. For more information on the grading go here.