Clifton is a coastal beach reserve motor camp in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

New Zealand 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 count ...

. It is located eighteen kilometres southeast of the city centre of Napier and eight kilometres west of the tip of

Cape Kidnappers for "''the jawbone of Māui''" * for "''the fish hook of Māui''" , , type = Cape , photo = Cape Kidnappers.jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Looking northeast towards Cape K ...

. Clifton marks the start of the walk or ride around to the Cape Kidnappers gannet colony. Located at Clifton is a beach reserve motor camp, a shop, a popular cafe, restaurant and bar, camping facilities, and a car park from which most visitors to

depart from. Clifton is located on Conservation Land, with the reserve being created to preserve the environment around the Cape Kidnappers for the large gannet colonies, which is a huge tourist attraction. Activities which are common include swimming, boating, sailing, kayaking and surfing. Clifton is located at 39°S 177°E on

Hawke Bay Hawke Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui), formerly named ''Hawke's Bay'', is a large bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, surrounded by the Hawke's Bay region. It stretches from Māhia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnap ...

on the east coast of New Zealand. The land almost immediately behind the beach is hilly and covered with trees. Clifton is located between the hilly terrain and the beach on a narrow strip of flat land. The road which leads towards

, Clifton Road, terminates as a car park at the southern end of Clifton and is the departure point for most people visiting the Cape. It is an eight-kilometre walk along the coast from Clifton to the Cape. As Clifton is located near the sea in an area which is highly prone to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...

, it is facing severe problems with the erosion. The Clifton shoreline is constantly being cut away by stormy seas and high ocean tides. Land at Clifton is precious as there is very little of it between the sea and the high terrain. The long term shoreline retreat at Clifton Beach is on average 0.75m per year, higher than coastal erosion rates at

Te Awanga Te Awanga is a small rural beachside town in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Te Awanga is near Cape Kidnappers, which has a renowned colony of the Australasian gannet. Te Awanga town is just smaller than Haumoana, which is further along the beach t ...

and

Haumoana Haumoana is a coastal town just south of the Tukituki River outlet in Hawke Bay on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located 12 km south of Napier and ten kilometres east of Hastings. The village incorporates a school, a ...

further north along the Bay coastline.

References

External links

Hawke's Bay Tourism
{{coord, -39.641, 176.993, display=title Hastings District Beaches of the Hawke's Bay Region Populated places in the Hawke's Bay Region Populated places around Hawke Bay