Ward Beach, Marlborough

The drive out to Ward Beach was almost as good as the destination itself — proper Marlborough scenery, with rolling rugged hills under a huge blue sky and endless rows of grape vines in the foreground turning all those rich autumn colours. It was stunning, but nearly impossible to photograph properly from a motorhome on a busy highway, so I just had to enjoy it in real time instead.
Ward Beach is definitely not your picture-postcard white sand beach. The shoreline is covered in countless smooth rocks ranging from tiny pebbles to fist-sized stones, all polished by years of waves rolling them against each other. Walking across it is a constant crunch and shuffle underfoot, with the stones shifting and sliding every time you step.
Instead of the usual soft swishing sound of a sandy beach, every wave crashed onto the shore with this loud rattling noise as thousands of stones and pebbles knocked against each other. Then, as the water pulled back out, you could hear all the smaller stones being dragged back with it, making this weirdly satisfying clattery grinding sound. Honestly, it sounded like someone tipping a bucket of marbles onto concrete over and over again.
The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake really made its mark here. Big sections of coastline were lifted up, permanently changing the shoreline and exposing areas that used to sit under the sea. Even now you can still see obvious signs of it, which adds to the already wild, rugged feel of Ward Beach.
We spent quite a bit of time wandering along the beach marvelling at how much the earthquakes had changed everything — all these previously hidden, almost crenellated rock formations (think Moeraki!) and tall jagged outcrops now sitting right out in the open.
For a rockhound like me, every metre of beach felt different, which meant I couldn’t help scanning constantly for anything interesting — and naturally I ended up picking up yet a few more “useless” stones that we now have to carry home. Of course, when I say useless, I mean according to Neil!
We also came across a whole colony of seals sunbathing on the rocks, so thankfully the dogs were already on their leads. At one point I wandered a bit too close while trying to get a photo and had the fright of my life when a seal the size of an elephant (well… it felt like one!) suddenly barked at me and lunged forward like it was going to chase me. I squealed and absolutely legged it back up the beach. After that, I decided I was far safer sticking to sea glass and agates and keeping my distance from anything that moved!
As much as we loved the beach, the lack of internet coverage was eventually what made us move on after just one night. We do love freedom camping, but every now and then a few modern comforts have to win.
So after our Ward Beach adventure, we headed back to Blenheim for one final night with Vicki and Boycey before finally making our way into Picton to start winding down the trip.Read more