Mahanga Beach is a beautiful sandy beach located on the northeast of Mahia Peninsula, one of Hawke's Bay's 'Top 5' swimming spots for water quality.
It is a popular spot for swimming, surfing, and fishing, with a small permanent and holiday community. The beach is monitored fortnightly, and historical water quality results show that it has excellent water quality and is generally not affected by changes in the weather.
Mahanga Beach is a great place to enjoy a variety of activities. It is a white sandy beach, great for walking, collecting shells, and beach fishing. The beach is also a great spot for boogie boarding, and there are several streams here which have whitebait in them. However, it is important to remember that whitebait fishing is a seasonal activity (15 August - 30 November).
For surfers, Mahanga Beach is a great surfing spot with both right and left-handers. It is a beach break on a sandy beach, located north of Mahia on a long stretch of beach. There are several peaks with both right and left-handers. The beach break and left-hand point break in SE-E-NE swells with W-SW offshore. It is relatively sheltered on the northern coastline with good beach and reef breaks on all tides.
To reach Mahanga Beach, take SH 2 towards Gisborne. At Nuhaka, continue straight ahead towards Opoutama. At Opoutama, continue along the road until you reach the beach. There is off-road parking available along the beach, and public toilets are available at the end of Judges Parade.
In summary, Mahanga Beach is a beautiful and popular spot for swimming, surfing, and fishing. It has excellent water quality and is generally not affected by changes in the weather. The beach is a great place to enjoy a variety of activities, including walking, collecting shells, beach fishing, boogie boarding, and surfing. It is easily accessible by car and has off-road parking available along the beach.