Ward Beach

A WHOLE NEW WORLD TO DISCOVER

13 DECEMBER 2022

These rocks were uplifted during the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake

A Photographers Paradise

If you're like me and you take a million photos on your adventures then find it hard to pick the best one, then Ward Beach is just perfect for you! You can take a million photos with the beautiful mountain/hill thingy in the background, from all different angles and use multiple rocks or driftwood as the subject then sit in front of your laptop when you get home and spend 3 hours finding THE ONE! Or do what I do and show them all off! Ok, maybe not all, a million is a bit excessive.

Ward Beach is one of those wow beaches where you have all these different rock formations, BEAUTIFUL blue water and large hills surrounding it. It's easily accessible from the carpark and you don't have to go far down the beach to explore it, which is a huge bonus as often you need to walk a few kms to see the cool rocks, rock pools and marine life.

We felt like we were in another country - it's not your typical New Zealand beach landscape

Even on a cloudy day, it's such a beautiful place

One of the boulders had cracked in half

Massive Earthquake

In 2016 there was a massive earthquake in Kaikoura which uplifted so many of these magnificent sedimentary rocks 2.2- 2.6 metres! This happened all along the Kaikoura coastline and we got to experience it at Mussel Point which is just north of Ward Beach.

We had a lot of fun exploring and photographing the rocks as well as watching the Caribbean blue water weave in between the rocks. The area can get really windy, so this causes strong currents which is a shame as the water looked so inviting!

The rocks uplifted in the earthquake

There are heaps of gemstones to be found near the tide line

The water was so incredibly blue here!

Fur Seal Colony

At the northern end of the beach, you can find a fur seal colony at the Chancet Rocks. We didn't see them and weren't aware that there were any here so we weren't exactly looking for any and we're not sure if we even went to the Chancet Rocks or not. We did see a dead seal but that doesn't count... does it?

We did get to see a huge seal colony at Ohau Point a couple of weeks later, a lot further down the coastline near Kaikoura, so we were happy we didn't miss out on seeing any at Ward Beach as we love our seals.

The view to the northern end of the beach

There are so many different shaped rocks at the beach

You'll find a few boulders at the northern end of the beach

Weird, Weird, Very Weird

Ward Beach certainly has a diverse range of rocks and these ones were super odd! They are very flat on the top and they reminded me of upside-down elephants feet... can you see it?! Sienna had a lot of fun climbing them to see what she could see which was "just rocks", according to her ladyship.

These rock formations seemed to have a lot of manky, stinky, mosquito filled pools of stagnant water near them (more on that below!) which was a bit odd. Nonetheless we still had fun exploring them.

We loved exploring all the different types of rocks at the beach. How random are these ones?!

Lath and Bella off to explore the flat rocks

A beautiful view looking towards the hill

Stagnany Sally

Staaaagnant Sally, stagnant Sally my baby! All around these tall, flat rocks were stagnant pools of water filled with thousands of mosquitoes which, surprisingly, didn't want to devour our nomadic human blood.

We were surprised the tide didn't come up that far and refill the pools with fresh sea water, but at one point they were probably thriving rockpools before the earthquake uplifted the rocks.

As gross as it was to think how disgusting the water must be, the algae was a really vibrant green and it was a nice, stark contrast against the grey rock and the water was really clear in most of the pools.

Take a dip, I dare ya!

Surprisingly we didn't get eaten alive by mosquitoes

The green was a nice contrast against the grey rock

Green vermicelli

A Bunch Of Boulders

There are a handful of boulders about 800m up the northern end of the beach which are nice to photograph but not much to look at! There aren't loads like you'd find at Moeraki way down the coastline, or up at Koutu in Northland near Wairere, but if you like unique treasures on a beach, then these big boulders are for you.

The boulders weren't here before the 2016 earthquake, they were uplifted when the quake struck along the Kaikoura coastline and they are made of dolomite, which is a calcium and magnesium carbonate mineral). It's amazing to think how many incredible rock formations are just below earth's surface that we're yet to discover!

There were only a handful of boulders at Ward Beach

The boulders were uplifted during the 2016 earthquake

It's an 8-minute walk up the north end of the beach to see the boulders

Weird And Wonderful

Ward Beach is certainly a place to find the weird and wonderful. From neon green pools filled with mosquitoes, to seal bones (and honestly, seal jerky).

Sienna found a lot of ladybugs on the rocks and driftwood just like we did at Mussel Point just north of Ward Beach and Opunake Beach in Taranaki. We never saw ladybugs on the beaches in Auckland in Northland so we're going to have to research why they are living on these beaches.

It's a great beach for kids to lift up stones, make driftwood huts, search in crevasses and find gemstones.

I saw bones scattered around the rocks, so I went to investigate

The remains of a seal

Beautiful shells stuck to a log. They were super delicate and reminded us of butterfly wings

Gemstones

We found a lot of beautiful stones and gemstones near the tide line. This was the best place as you could see them better when the tide washed over them. Bella was right in there to see what she could find!

We're not sure what types of gemstones we found as we didn't take any home with us. Yes, VERY surprising considering Bella Boo is obsessed with them! She thought they were just colourful rocks, but once I had a search online that night, we realised that they were indeed gemstones!

The beach is pea gravel from the carpark to where the stones begin, so your best bet for finding the gemstones is down near the tide line and low tide is best! The waves can be strong at Ward Beach so watch out for those pesky, rogue waves.

Sienna watching the waves crash onto the rocks

Sienna checking out a ladybug

Our little explorer

Know Before You Go

The best time to search for gemstones is at low tide - be careful of the rogue waves!
Swimming isn't recommended here as the currents can be strong
The boulders are 800m up the north coast (it's about a 10 min walk)
You may spot seals at Chancet Rocks (keep your distance, they are feisty as we saw at Ohau Point!)
The stones near the carpark are pea gravel so it's very soft to walk in

Mappy McMap Face

Getting There

Ward Beach is 40-minutes south of Blenheim and 1 hour and 10-minutes north of Kaikoura. Once you get into Ward, head onto Seddon Street then Ward Beach Road and follow along till you see the signs for the beach.

Conclusion

Ward Beach is a fascinating place. There is so much to see and discover - seek and you shall find! It's a photographer's paradise and an awesome place for kids to explore. We wouldn't go there just to see the boulders, but they are a bonus and it's so interesting to see the huge rocks they were uplifted in the 2016 earthquake.