Carters Beach is a suburb of Westport on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

New Zealand's New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country b ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. Located west of Westport on State Highway 67A, it offers a pristine sheltered sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

on the

suitable for swimming. From the Buller River jetty at the east end of Carters Beach, west to Cape Foulwind, the beach runs for more than 9 uninterrupted kilometres. Carters Beach is occasionally used by

naturists Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

for nude sunbathing. New Zealand has no official nude beaches, as public nudity is legal on any beach where it is "known to occur". The Kawatiri Coastal Trail is under construction and was expected to be completed in 2021, since delayed to 2024. The bike trail will connect Westport to Carters Beach, and continue south to Charleston. In Carters Beach, it passes through wetlands, past the golf course, and through the domain (public park) as it winds its way south. An 18-hole golf course and Westport Airport are located near the town. Erosion along Rotary Road in 2018 resulted in the closure of the beachside road and threatened the possible closure of the nearby airport. However, in 2020 the road along the beach to the west side of the

Buller River The Buller River ( mi, Kawatiri) is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. One of the country's longest rivers, it flows for from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport. Within the Bulle ...

mouth was rebuilt as a bike and pedestrian path. Granite rock has been piled along the beach to prevent further erosion and impact to the airport. The town offers accommodations and a restaurant. Carters Beach was named after an early settler who farmed the area in the late 1800s.

Demographics

Carters Beach is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Westport Rural statistical area, which covers . The population of Carters Beach was 330 in the 2018 census, a decrease of 9 from 2013, and an increase of 36 from 2006. There were 177 males and 156 females. 306 people (92.7%) identified as European/Pākehā, 45 (13.6%) as Māori, 3 (0.9%) as Pacific peoples, and 6 (1.8%) as Asian. 72 people (21.8%) were under 15 years old, 18 (5.5%) were 15–29, 153 (46.4%) were 30–64, and 87 (26.4%) were over 65.

References

{{Coord, 41, 45, S, 171, 34, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Buller District Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand Nude beaches Naturism in New Zealand