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A guide to Motukiekie beach

It only took one photo in National Geographic to put this kiwi beach on the map for photographers. Tucked away off highway 6, named the top 10 most beautiful drives in the world by Lonely Planet, Motukiekie Beach is a seascape lover’s dream. The vast, sandy beach is full of reflective tide-pools with 12-legged starfish. The surrounding sea-stacks take abstract formations along the coast.

What’s most magnificent of all? Everyday the crashing tides swallow this beach whole in the blink of an eye.

While there are many photos of this scenic spot, there’s not a whole lot of information about it otherwise. This guide to Motukiekie Beach will tell you everything you need to know to plan your visit.

Location
West coast, New Zealand
Walking time
1h return
Elevation gain/loss
+ 0 m / – 0m

Grade
Easy
Distance
1 km one way (Return same track)
Maps
BT19 – Runanga

How to get to Motukiekie Beach

Motukiekie Beach is on New Zealand’s Southern Island on the Northwestern coast, still unknown to many tourists. The beach is in between Greymouth and Punakaiki, technically in the town of Barrytown. The closest big town to the beach is Greymouth, 15 km away.

From Christchurch

Getting here definitely involves driving, as there is no public transport to the beach or tour operators. If you’re traveling internationally, the closest airport is Christchurch International Airport. It’s about 3.5 hours away and roughly 250 km. The drive will take you through Castle Hill and Arthur’s Pass National Park via highway 73 and state highway 6.

Guide Motukiekie Beach - Sunset - Photo by Nico Babot

Photography guide Motukiekie Itinerary from Christchurch to Motukiekie

From Fox Glacier

Otherwise, if you’re coming from the direction of Fox Glacier, you’ll head directly North up the coastline. The scenic 3 hour drive (about 216 km) along state highway 6 will be full of natural landscapes and interesting stops to take along the way. You’ll quickly see why it is known as one of the most beautiful drives in the world!

History of Gold Mining in the Region

Speaking of stops along the way, you may also want to incorporate a stop at “Shantytown”, a heritage park and tribute to the Gold Rush along the West Coast. In the late 1800s the Gold Rush created a population boom that the coast never saw before. In this area near the beach in particular, the population rose from 300 to 30,000 in a matter of years in the 1860s.

Two Maori people found the gold along the Taramakau River, which then brought in many European miners. To follow were builders, shopkeepers, hotels, and families that made a home along New Zealand’s Western Coast.

Today, the nearby town of Greymouth has a population of about 13,500, and the entire West Coast has a population of 32,600.

Photo by Ebenezer Teichelmann – Taken 1905.

Photograph taken circa 1910s, by an unidentified photographer.
Two large drays on Barrytown beach, with D Ryall (driving wagon) and T Cargill (standing by horses).
Link to the image

Starfish Colonies of Motukiekie Beach

Aside from the miraculous sea stacks along the coast, the beach is also home to a variety of starfish colonies that almost look extraterrestrial. First, you’ll notice the bright orange starfish with 12 legs, hanging out in the various tide pools. These starfish almost look like daisies of the sea. You’ll also find your typical 5-legged starfish in shades of salmon, plum, and champagne.

These starfish species haven’t been officially identified online, but are most likely the Morning Star Sunfish and the Australian Southern sand star.

Please when exploring the beach, be careful where you are walking and remember you should never take starfish out of the water! They can die out of water in as little as 3 minutes. Starfish also can die of stress, so best to keep your distance and avoid flash when photographing these intriguing creatures.

Guide Motukiekie Beach - Seastar 2 - Photo by Nico Babot

Motukiekie Beach Walk: Know Before You Go

The best way to experience and capture the Motukiekie Beach is to take a brisk walk along the sandy shores. You’ll be able to put your toes in the sand and feel the ocean water. Cliffs seclude the beach from the nearby highway, providing a completely tranquil nature walk full of views.

It is an easy, mild walk that is mostly completely flat along the beach. However, timing is everything on this journey. Don’t get too lost in those views, because you also need to keep an eye on the rising sea level. Read ahead carefully to make sure you don’t get washed away with the tides.

The Motukiekie Beach walk starts technically from the parking lot once you turn off of highway 6. You’ll walk down to the beach following the signs. The climb down to the beach is a little bumpy and rough. Make sure to have this in mind when bringing any photo gear down with you.

Once you get on the beach, it will take you about one hour to get to the other end of the sea stacks. From here, you’ll turn back around and walk back along the way you came. The beach is very popular at sunset, especially for photographers, but any time of day you’ll be able to capture the scenery in its glory.

A Word of Safety: the Motukiekie Beach Tides

With a beach as huge as Motukiekie, it may seem impossible that the tides would completely swallow this beach. Think again. It is not possible to visit the beach during high tide, as the beach completely disappears underwater. You should also know that the tides change very quickly. Thus, you’ll definitely have to think ahead when planning your visit.

The first step is to check with the Greymouth newspaper for the tide schedule that day. The tides change everyday, so again, make sure you check the specific date. The beach has low and high tide twice a day, usually in the early morning before sunrise, and then again around sunset.

However, this isn’t always the case. If you want to visit at sunset, you’ll need to visit when the tide is low. Depending on the day and what time of year for the sun set, it may not be possible to be here exactly at sun set.

Lastly, and more importantly, you’ll want to make sure that you start your walk on a FALLING tide. This means you should visit about 1.5 hours before low tide. If you visit on a rising tide, you might run into the risk of being stuck on the other end of the beach while the shore is swept away!

The only other safety note would be to watch for quickly changing weather, which often happens along the West Coast. Strong winds along the shore are also common. It may not be a bad idea to let someone else know you’re going before you head down there, especially if visiting alone.

But depending on the day, you’ll definitely see other tourists and locals here. As long as you’re smart and think ahead for your visit, you’ll be able to completely enjoy once you actually reach Motukiekie’s shores!

Photographing the Motukiekie Rocks

Ok, so now that you we’ve covered all there is to know about the area, let’s focus on what there is to know if you want to shoot the Motukiekie rocks. What makes those rocks challenging to shoot is the combination of three factors that are quite hard to get right at the same time: sunset time, tide time and weather.

Guide Motukiekie Beach - The rocks at blue hour - Photo by Nico Babot

Combining tide and sunset

The first two factors are quite easy to predict but they will seriously limit your options if you want to shoot the rocks at sunset/golden hour. Remember, you don’t want to get caught by the high tide along those cliffs, this would be a very uncomfortable way to spend the night!

To plan my shots, I use the app Planit Photo Planner. This is the app that has the most features and the one we are going to use for this shoot is the Tide search. After settting the camera location near the Motukiekie Rock, I am setting my tide site to westoprt (closest station from Motukiekie), my tide height to low tide and filter the results to Golden hour only (to make sure I will get only get low tide at the correct time of the day in my results).

As you can see, I only get 48 results for one year… If you combine this with our last factor, the weather, you are starting to understanf why this location is so challenging!

Photography guide Motukiekie Planit Screenshot 1

Photography guide Motukiekie Planit Screenshot 2

Photography guide Motukiekie Planit Screenshot 3

Other elements to take into consideration

Works best: That location works both at sunset or in the morning but not at sunsrise (because the light is blocked by the alps in your back). I would prioritize sunset as it will be easier (and safer!) to make your compositions in the late afternoon and wait for the perfect time than going in the morning and walk on wet rocks in the dark.

Compositions: there are plenty of compositions along the beach with nice boulders and plenty of opportunities for reflections shoots while the tide is going down. But the composition I prefer is the one with starfish in the foreground and to access those you will need the tide at it lowest.

Sun location: If you are looking towards the Rocks, you will have the sun behind the rocks at sunset.

Map:

[ultimate_maps id="3"]

Guide Motukiekie Beach - Seastar and sunset 2 - Photo by Nico Babot

When you Should go to Motukiekie Beach (weather)

Motukiekie beach is gorgeous at anytime of year, and each season definitely brings out a different mood to the beach. In the summer months of November-February, the beach looks much more tropical on a sunny day. However, in the winter months of May-August, the rainy days bring out the moody sea and crashing waves.

Either way, you can visit during low tide during any season, and it’s best to prepare for rain. The wettest month is May, and February is the driest month. The hottest month of February is around 16.5 C on average, while July it is around 8 C on average. Plan that the warmer months will have less rain on average.

You can check for weather here:
https://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/greymouth

What gear to take

You’ll definitely want to bring some type of water shoes when walking along the shore. Although some parts may be comfortable barefoot, others may be rockier and even slippery. Also watch your step for starfish or any other sea life that may be resting in the tide pools.

If coming during the day, make sure to bring your sunscreen, hat, and water. When bringing any photo gear, make sure it is safely tucked away in a backpack or bag that won’t get wet. Depending on the weather, you may want to also bring a rain jacket… well, actually, you should definitely bring a rain jacket (it’s the westcoast we’re talking about here!)

I would also recommend bringing a watch if you’re not bringing your phone to keep an eye on time. You’ll need it to keep an eye on the tides!

Where to Stay Near Motukiekie Beach

The classic kiwi batch experience

Although the beach may be a bit remote, you do have a few options for accommodation in the area. If you’d like a true kiwi experience, consider renting a batch near the beach. This holiday home called “the Blue Bach” is located right along the beach, sitting on a hill overlooking the nearby Motukiekie Island. The 2-bedroom 1 bathroom house fits up to 9 guests starting at $150 a night.

The backpaker option

For backpackers, you can head a bit north to the Beach Hostel in Punakaiki near Pancake Rocks. Here you are in walking distance to Paparoa National Park and within driving distance to Motukiekie Beach. Starting from $34 a night you can reserve a room in a dorm, or a single room starting at $89.

The upperscale…

Lastly, if you’re looking for a more luxury, secluded experience, you can book your stay at the beach Hideaway, offering 2 luxury chalets right along the coast. Although it does not directly have beach access, it is equipped with a hot tub and a range of outdoor activities available such as kayaking, rafting, and surfing. You can contact the property directly for rates and availability.

About me

Hey you!

I’m Nico, a french-kiwi photographer based in Europe (yep, that’s a lot of countries in just one sentence!). I specialise in landscape photography and getting wet feet every time I attempt river crossings… Actually, I have a modo that says that the earlier you get your feet wet, the earlier you can move on and focus on something else!

With those articles, I am trying to collect in one place all I learnt about the locations I have visited to get the shot I had in mind (often more than once… way more!). I am trying to provide photographers with useful informations but I am pretty sure that if you are just planing on visiting the same places, you will also get something out of it!

Let me know if you have any question!

4 replies

Tom says:
03/11/2019 at 11:50 pm

Wonderful post and great advice! This is the kind of valuable information people are looking for. I follow you for quite a while and am impressed about the quality content you put out there among your fantastic imagery. Keep up the great work!
Cheers
Tom
Reply
- nico says:
  05/11/2019 at 3:55 am
  
  Thanks Tom, I’m just putting the info I wished I had known before! :)
  Reply
howard says:
03/03/2023 at 12:33 am

Lovely and informative writing. Thanks for sharing.
Reply
- nico says:
  09/03/2023 at 6:15 am
  
  Thanks a lot Howard. Happy to hear it was usefull to you.
  Reply

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A guide to Motukiekie beach

Location

Walking time

Elevation gain/loss

Grade

Distance

Maps