Oreti Beach is the central bay of three lying on the

Foveaux Strait The Foveaux Strait, (, or , ) separates Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. The strait is about 130 km long (from Ruapuke Island to Little Solander Island), and it widens (from 14 km at Ruapuk ...

coast of

Southland, New Zealand Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The r ...

, the others being

Te Waewae Bay Te Waewae Bay is the westernmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay. Twenty-seven kilometres in length, the western end of the bay is mountainous, with th ...

and

Toetoes Bay Toetoes Bay is the easternmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Oreti Beach. The 240 km Mataura River drains to sea at Toetoes Bay, first passing through the ...

. Twenty-six kilometres in length, the bay lies between the town of Riverton and the outflow of the

Aparima River The Aparima River, earlier known as Jacob's River, is one of the southward-flowing braided rivers of Southland, New Zealand. Description The Aparima has its headwaters in the Takitimu Mountains, south of Lake Te Anau, and flows south for before ...

in the northwest, and the estuary of the

Ōreti River The Ōreti River (formerly the Oreti River) is one of the main rivers of Southland, New Zealand, and is long. The river has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because, for much of its length, it supports bree ...

in the southeast. The city of

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

is located on the Waihopai River ten kilometres east of the bay at the closest point. This is the site where

Burt Munro Herbert James "Burt" Munro (''Bert'' in his youth; 25 March 1899 – 6 January 1978) was a motorcycle racer from New Zealand, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record, at Bonneville, on the 26th of August 1967. This record still st ...

practised riding the Indian motorbike with which he would go on to break records at Bonneville Salt flats, Utah.

References

Landforms of Southland, New Zealand Beaches of New Zealand Bays of Southland, New Zealand Foveaux Strait Invercargill {{Southland-geo-stub