te paki sand dunes

I LOVE this place. My mouth dropped the moment my buddy parked and i got out of the car.There was a van that rented bodyboards for you to slide down thw sand dunes from the top for about $15. But on the way to the sand dunes, there were some places with signage writing "Board hire for $10". I went during summer so the sand was really hot. U might wanna wear your socks while going up the dunes. Also, load up on sunscreeen and water.Very fun. Completely worth it.Takes about 10-15 min all the way up.

WE went on a tour and did the Kauri trees, 90 mile beach which was so cool, then stopped at the sand dunes for a body boarding, which was so much fun! A must do if your heading that way.

Close to the main highway, these sand dunes are quite extraordinary due to their sheer size and pink sand. The climb up to the highest point (~ 100m) was very difficult but the way down was much more fun. You go pretty fast if you can stop yourself from going sideways or digging in your feed or hands. It's perfect for older children and adults alike ... make sure you bring extra clothes and face wipes and go towards the end of your day as the sand gets stuck everywhere (I was still scraping it off my scalp after 4 showers).

lots of fun but definitely could be commercialized a lot more meaning money for the locals. a chair lift would go a long way to reaping in huge bucks.

I walked across the sand dunes towards the sea. try the sand boarding, I am sure you will like it!I was stunned by the giant sand dunes. It was a nice experience as you don't always get the chance to walk in the desert.

Te Paki sand dunes are 3 kms off the main highway heading north towards Cape Reinga (15mins further) on a gravel road, but safe to drive. Along the highway there are a couple locations to hire boards however there is a rental place at the base of the dunes where you can hire them as well ($15 per board and cannot be shared). Get here early, especially if it's going to be a sunny hot day as the sand gets very hot to walk on (that's right... don't wear shoes or thongs as it is too hard to walk on wearing them). There are several dunes to ride and the rental people give advice on this as well as how to ride the boards. Suggest to walk to the highest dune on the left to get amazing views over 90 Mile Beach and surrounding hills. Riding the dunes is daunting at first but what a thrill. Take heed to the rental peoples advice. Don't have loose items and items that can fall off. We heard stories of people loosing watches, phones, cameras and sunglasses, so keep these items secured.Pros:Awesome experienceStunning views of 100m high dunesTips:Have to be of reasonable fitness to climb the dunes, particularly the highest duneSand gets very hot underfoot so go early in the day

This was so much fun but exhausting climbing those dunes ! Make sure you take a boogie board or cardboard boxes to slide down on. There is someone that rents out boogie boards for $15 but some of them didn't work so well. This was really fun !!!

Sand boarding was great fun! The climb up the dunes can be physically taxing but anyone can do it! Seen 70 yr olds done it a few times! There's a company that rent sand boards at the carpark where you enter the dunes. One tip: don't wear sunglasses or anything while sandboarding. I wore my spectacles and they snapped when I fell off my board and rolled on down the dune. Quite dangerous if you wear them... They might just poke into your eyes!

This little gem is situated near Cape Reinga and is only 3km drive from the main highway. Bring a body board or rent one from one of the various houses around the area or even from the van that is parked at the bottom of the dunes. After about 10 minutes of walking from the main carpark you get to the steepest dune which is the one you get to ride. This dune requires a solid effort to get up, but is well worth it for the 5 seconds of sheer enjoyment as you fly down. The only downside is having to climb the dune every time you want to ride again. All in all a good bit of fun and a great way to spend an hour or two with some friends.

Our family took a trip to Cape Reinga and stopped at the Te Paki sand dunes. What an experience! We did not plan to stop but we are glad we did. The 'dune surfing' was exhilarating and unique experience. We ally enjoyed the thrills and spills!

We drove here from Kaitaia, along Ninety Mile Beach, in our own vehicle. We went around low tide and the drive up the beach was just surreal. To get to the sand dunes we had to drive along the Te Paki stream. At first that was a bit worrying as we hadn't done this before, but fortunately, we followed another vehicle and stayed in their tracks. When we reached the sand dunes we parked up and joined in the fun. There were 2 or 3 bus tours there plus some other people who had driven there, but there's plenty of room and it didn;t feel crowded at all. The climb up is hard work, but the slide down is absolutely worth it. This is just good old innocent fun in a wonderful, stunning setting. Highly recommended.

These are great! The sand dunes go forever . . . Take a boogie board or cardboard to slide down the dunes. You probably will only climb once unless you have boundless energy. Kids loved it.

I had the chance to stop at the Te Paki Sand Dunes on a drive back from seeing Cape Reinga. While Cape Reinga was the major sightseeing adventure of the day, the Sand Dunes were absolutely breathtaking. I would definitely recommend stopping off at them on your way back from Cape Reinga. If sand boarding/sledding is your thing, there is definitely an option for that as well - as there was a person renting out sleds and boards near where everyone was parked.

This was one of the most absurd things i have experienced. To one minute be in a normal hilly forest landscape, to in the next moment look across giant sand dunes. Going down the sand dunes was a thrilling experience, you even get an exercise when going up the dunes!

The surroundings were crazy, the absolutely enormous sand dunes in contrast to a tiny river with subtropical forests behind it. We did the sandboarding which I strongly recommend as well, quite the blast!