On busy days lifeguards pull dozens of people from the surf. The rocks of Muriwai belong to the gannets, fur seals and terns.
Gannets soar above the cliffs on wingspans two metres across.
This is one of the few places in the world where gannets will nest on the mainland. The gannets on Otakamiro Point migrate to Australia and back. From September to March the birds settle on the point and the rocky pillar that rises beside it, as well as an island further offshore, A track leads south over the rocks to their colony, and in the skies above they whirl on the updrafts with hangliders. Around the bend in Maori Bay, rock fanciers can examine the cliffs for radiating volcanic formations known as pillow lava. To the north the surf rolls up onto a long, broad beach lined with pines to stop the dunes blowing inland.