White Rock Beach, located south of Martinborough, is known for its rugged beauty, white rock formation, and excellent surfing, but the main beach is exposed to large swells and has a steep gradient, making swimming challenging.
About
Spectacular, rugged White Rock Beach is about a 70 minute drive south of Martinborough. You'll spot the large white rock it's named after about halfway down the 5km long beach.
Surfing at White Rock is some of the best in the country, but the areas that are surfed are not part of the main beach. Dolphin Bay is at the northern end and involves a 10-15 minute walk over rough terrain. There are both left and right beach and reef breaks.
The beach at White Rock is very exposed to the elements, often getting hit by large swells. There is a moderate to steep swash gradient which produces a heavy beach dump and only in larger swells do waves actually break off the beach.