Kennedy Bay Beach

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Kennedy Bay arrives as relief after the winding coastal road from Coromandel Town, the beach suddenly spreading before you in a broad arc that catches afternoon sun full-on. The sand runs firm and walkable, backed by pohutukawa that drop crimson flowers in December and provide the only significant shade. At low tide the bay reveals itself completely: tidal flats extend a hundred meters offshore, creating warm shallow lagoons where flounder leave tracks and children wade for hours without depth concern. You'll notice the holiday park first, its cabins and tent sites tucked beneath trees at the beach's southern end, then the scattering of private baches that dot the foreshore with quintessential Kiwi understatement—weatherboard and corrugated iron, decks facing the water, dinghies pulled above the tide line. The bay's curve creates natural walking destinations: rocky headlands at each end offer exploration at low tide, and the beach between stays empty enough that your footprints remain visible on return walks hours later. High tide transforms the bay into swimmable depth, water pushing to the vegetation line and waves building enough size to body-surf if wind cooperates. The Moehau Range rises behind the beach, bush-covered slopes climbing toward the peninsula's highest point, while seaward the Pacific stretches uninterrupted to the horizon. Evening brings fishing boats returning to moorings and the smell of barbecues firing up at the holiday park, smoke drifting through pohutukawa branches as light drains from the sky.