Otama has to be one of my favourite beaches in the Coromandel. It’s great for kids of all ages and it has lots of shade options thanks to the old pohutakawa tress.
The left end of the beach often has a small estuary, depending on the tide, making it perfect for babies and toddlers to paddle in the shallow water.
Older kids who are confident swimmers will love jumping off the big rock into the water. The beach drops off and gets deep quickly, so the rocks can usually be jumped off at either high or low tide. There are rocks at both ends for exploring or bring a mask and snorkel to explore underwater, you may even get some shellfish too!
For the littler kids there are rocks at both ends for exploring. The sand is beautiful, it’s so fine it squeaks when you walk and there are interesting shells to search for too. Trees for climbing and a little rope swing.
At the other end of the beach walk down the steps and you will find a big rope swing, little caves, a lagoon for paddle boarding or canoeing, sand banks for jumping and sliding off. It you check the swell, sometimes there are good waves for surfing too.
The dunes back on to a protected wetland nature reserve.
Hungry on your way home? Stop at the Kuaotunu Store for one of the biggest ice creams. Kua Kawhe Cafe offers delicious smoothies, coffee and cafe food.
Or if it’s time for dinner you can’t go past Luke’s Kitchen for the most delicious wood fired pizzas. There might be a bit of a wait in the Summer Season, but it’s well worth it! If they’re not too busy and your kids ask nicely, they might even give them a bit of pizza dough to make something out of while they wait. They will cook it for you too!