Ocean Beach is a long sandy beach which runs along the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 coast of south Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It stretches for some three kilometres from Saint Clair

Saint Clair, New Zealand

St Clair is a leafy residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast five kilometres from the city centre on the southwesternmost part of the coastal plain which makes up the southern part of the urban area, and also climbs the slopes of Forbury Hill...

 in the southwest along the coast of Saint Kilda

Saint Kilda, New Zealand

St Kilda is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. A densely populated residential suburb, it lies on the southern part of the city's central plain, to the southwest of the head of the harbour and immediately north of Ocean Beach, parts of which are within the suburb and form its major...

 to the foot of Lawyer's Head

Lawyer's Head

Lawyers Head is a prominent landmark on the coast of Otago, New Zealand. Located within the city of Dunedin, this rocky headland juts into the Pacific Ocean at the eastern end of the city's main beach, Saint Kilda Beach...

 in the east. The beach is a popular recreation area for Dunedinites for swimming, surfing, and walking.

Geography

The beach is divided into three roughly equal lengths, known as Saint Clair Beach, Middle Beach, and Saint Kilda Beach. Access is easiest at the Saint Clair end, with steps and ramps down to the beach from Saint Clair Esplanade. The esplanade is the site of several cafes and restaurants. At its end, also the eastern end of the beach, is the Saint Clair salt-water swimming pool, the city’s oldest pool, opened in 1884. The pool has been upgraded on several occasions, most recently in 2002. A short walking track leads southwest from the pool to Second Beach, a small stony beach sitting at the bottom of the basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

 cliffs of Forbury Head.

Saint Clair Beach is a popular surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

 venue, as well as having a patrolled swimming area. Shark nets have been deployed one kilometre out from the beach every summer since 1970, making this a safe swimming area. Major surf lifesaving and surfing championships are regularly hosted at Saint Clair Beach. The western end of Saint Clair Beach is marked by a series of old wooden posts, the remains of an old breakwater.

The other major access-point to the beach is at Saint Kilda, where a sandy slope leads down to the sea from the road. Here, too, is a patrolled swimming area. Between the two access points is Middle Beach. This is backed by a series of high dunes topped by a walkway linking Saint Clair Esplanade with the Sir James Barnes Lookout, which offers views across south Dunedin from above Forbury Park Raceway

Forbury Park Raceway

Forbury Park Raceway is a horseracing venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located close to the Pacific Ocean coast in the suburb of Saint Kilda....

. Behind these dunes are several of the city’s sports grounds, notably Kettle Park. The Ocean Beach Railway

Ocean Beach Railway

The Ocean Beach Railway is a heritage railway that operates in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located between John Wilson Drive in the suburb of Saint Kilda and sports grounds near Forbury Park Raceway, and runs parallel with the city's main beach, Ocean Beach...

 runs through these parks from the Otago Model Engineering Club’s premises close to the Saint Kilda beach access point.

In recent years the dunes have been subject to severe erosion, and measures have been taken by the Dunedin City Council to reinforce them. This is not the first time that erosion has threatened properties along this stretch of Dunedin’s coast. Heavy seas during the 1890s and early 1900s caused loss of land close to Saint Clair, and the current esplanade is sited along the line of the first sea wall to be built along this stretch of coast, built between 1911 and 1913.

Wildlife

Despite being a well-frequented beach within an urban area, Ocean Beach is regularly visited by a wide array of wildlife. Both seals

New Zealand Fur Seal

The Australian fur seal , or New Zealand fur seal or southern fur seal, is a species of fur seal found around the south coast of Australia, the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and some of the small islands to the south and east of there...

 and sea lions are occasional visitors, as are blue penguin

Little Penguin

The Little Penguin is the smallest species of penguin. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of in height and in length , is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile.Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names...

s.

Further reading

• Newton, B.A. (2003) Our St. Clair. Dunedin: Kenmore Productions.