Ripirō Beach

Ripirō Beach is a sandy stretch on the west coast of Northland, New Zealand, extending from the Maunganui Bluff in the north down the Pouto Peninsula to the Kaipara Harbour mouth in the south.

At 66 miles (107 km) long it is the longest driveable beach in New Zealand, longer than the more famous but erroneously named Ninety Mile Beach further north. It is straight, and backed by high sand dunes for most of this length. The beach incorporates the coastal settlements of Baylys Beach, Glinks Gully and Omamari.

The swamp at Omamari was drained in 1898, in order for the area to be dug for kauri gum.

This beach is home of the famous local shellfish delicacy the toheroa. Overexploitation in the 1950s and 1960s caused the population of the shellfish to decline so much that public gathering of the shellfish is now prohibited.

It is the site of numerous shipwrecks, with 110 confirmed shipwrecks on Ripirō Beach and neighbouring Kaipara Harbour recorded between 1834 and 1994. Notable ships wrecked on Ripirō Beach include the French corvette L'Alcmene (1851) and the yacht Askoy (1994).