Last Updated on March 30, 2020 by Jon Algie
We walked down the windswept Warrington Beach, sand whistling past our ankles. It was anything but exotic, but we soon reached the end and made our way around to the back side of the beach. Away from the oppressive wind and the choppy ocean we found a slice of calm, almost tropical, paradise. The side of Warrington Beach which backs on to Blueskin Bay (which is actually an estuary) wouldn’t look out of place in a brochure for some far-flung beach destination.
Dunedin’s most exotic looking stretch of beach…?
There are so many beaches in Dunedin and choosing which ones to visit can be a daunting task. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but Warrington Beach is pretty unique for this part of the world. The Blueskin Bay side was completely sheltered when we visited and featured some the clearest, most inviting water I’ve ever seen in Dunedin. You can see similar scenes at several other Dunedin beaches, including Purakaunui Beach and Allans Beach, but they don’t quite stack up to what you’ll find at Warrington Beach.
It’s easy to find too — just walk along the beach until you reach the end (the opposite end to Warrington village) and continue walking around until you reach the other side. There are tracks through the centre of the little peninsula thing, stay as close as you can to the left and you’ll get some nice elevated views of the beach / Blueskin Bay.
After the stretch of beach pictured below it gets a little rougher — you’ll eventually need to either cross back to the ocean side of the beach or walk along one of the tracks through the middle. All up it should take around 45 minutes to walk to the end of the beach and back. There’s a big car park at Warrington Beach but keep driving along until the road runs out (next to Blueskin Bay, as turning left up the hill leads to a dead end and there are no parks there). To get to the beach head up that road and you’ll see a track next to a water treatment station.
Other views of Warrington Beach
The “tropical” part of Warrington Beach is pretty small, but the rest of it also has its charms. You can get an awesome view of the beach from the village (close to the car park turnoff) and you might also see some wildlife while walking along the beach.
You can also see Warrington Beach and Blueskin Bay from the Silver Peaks Reserve. It’s easily one of the best hikes in Dunedin and the views are incredible — do it if you get the chance!
Getting to Warrington
Warrington is a 25 minute drive from downtown Dunedin. Head over the highway north towards Oamaru and you’ll soon see the turnoff (just past Waitati). If you have time and want to see more views and beaches you can drive towards Port Chalmers then turn up the hill towards Long Beach and Purakaunui (and maybe to Heyward Point, one of Dunedin’s best viewpoints). You can also continue north along Coast Road to Karitane, which I highly recommend.
Visiting Dunedin? Check out our list of the best things to do in Dunedin!
Jon Algie
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