SORRY FOLKS, THERE'S NO MONKEYS HERE!
01 MARCH 2023
No Monkeys At Monkey Bay... Huh?
Before we get started, let me clear something up.... there are NO monkeys at Monkey Bay in Marlborough. Yes, you heard that right. There are no primates swinging from the trees or throwing bananas at unsuspecting tourists - don't worry, I'm just as disappointed as you are (about monkeys not being there... not bananas being hurled at me). Who knows how Monkey Bay got its name... I've tried to find out but no luck, so if you do know then drop us a line as we're very curious to know!
The track to Monkey Bay starts at the very left side of Rarangi Beach. It's easy to spot the stairs at the carpark and there's always plenty of parking there. Don't worry, there aren't that many stairs and although we haven't counted them, we can safely say it only takes a minute to walk up them!
It's a bit of a treat walking to Monkey Bay, especially once you hit the top of the stairs and you get beautiful views across Rarangi Beach and head around a little bit more and Monkey Bay comes into full glorious view. With the colour of the water and the rock formations, we always think that it looks like somewhere in Thailand, as it has that Southeast Asia look. From the lookout, you can see across to Wellington in the North Island on a really clear day.
We kept the girls to the left-hand side of the track once we passed the lookout as there was no railings - just a big drop off, so keep the little ones close by on this part of the track.
The track to Monkey Bay starts at the very left side of Rarangi Beach. It's easy to spot the stairs at the carpark and there's always plenty of parking there. Don't worry, there aren't that many stairs and although we haven't counted them, we can safely say it only takes a minute to walk up them!
It's a bit of a treat walking to Monkey Bay, especially once you hit the top of the stairs and you get beautiful views across Rarangi Beach and head around a little bit more and Monkey Bay comes into full glorious view. With the colour of the water and the rock formations, we always think that it looks like somewhere in Thailand, as it has that Southeast Asia look. From the lookout, you can see across to Wellington in the North Island on a really clear day.
We kept the girls to the left-hand side of the track once we passed the lookout as there was no railings - just a big drop off, so keep the little ones close by on this part of the track.
View of Rarangi Beach from the stairs by the carpark
View of Monkey Bay Beach
An Amazing Place To Collect Treasures
Monkey is a really small bay which is made even smaller at high tide as you can't get past the rocks to the other side of the beach. It's usually FULL of driftwood which is lots of fun to search amongst and see what shapes we can find in the wood.
We have visited the beach few times as we LOVE collecting all the gems here. Every time a wave washes over the sand, new gemstones and rocks are exposed which we find pretty darn cool. The girls love the thrill of watching a wave going out, then running to see what stones they can see and then squeal in delight as another wave chases them away.
We've never been swimming here, we prefer Whites Bay Beach which is just around the corner, as the current has been strong every time we visited so it didn't feel safe for the kiddies but we have seen others swimming here. It's such a secluded spot that you won't be fighting with swimming space (well, with humans anyway, can't comment on any marine life that is lurking around!).
The cliffs around the beach have so many textures and shapes, it's a bit of a photographers paradise and so fascinating to see all of the beauty surrounding it.
Near the beginning of the beach is a giant tunnel underneath the huge cliff, where the waves wash in and out of from the other side of the cliff. It's pretty impressive to see the waves smashing about in there at high tide. Not a place you'd want kids to be exploring in!!
If you are wanting to explore some caves, then just to the left of the stairs in the carpark is a small dirt track that will lead you to some caves. It takes less than a minute to get to the caves and they don't seem to be signposted. We forgot to bring our torches with us, so we couldn't go in and explore (our phone lights wouldn't have been enough). It would be fun to explore them but we're sure they won't be as awesome as the Abbey Caves and Waipu Caves in Northland that we explored!
We have visited the beach few times as we LOVE collecting all the gems here. Every time a wave washes over the sand, new gemstones and rocks are exposed which we find pretty darn cool. The girls love the thrill of watching a wave going out, then running to see what stones they can see and then squeal in delight as another wave chases them away.
We've never been swimming here, we prefer Whites Bay Beach which is just around the corner, as the current has been strong every time we visited so it didn't feel safe for the kiddies but we have seen others swimming here. It's such a secluded spot that you won't be fighting with swimming space (well, with humans anyway, can't comment on any marine life that is lurking around!).
The cliffs around the beach have so many textures and shapes, it's a bit of a photographers paradise and so fascinating to see all of the beauty surrounding it.
Near the beginning of the beach is a giant tunnel underneath the huge cliff, where the waves wash in and out of from the other side of the cliff. It's pretty impressive to see the waves smashing about in there at high tide. Not a place you'd want kids to be exploring in!!
If you are wanting to explore some caves, then just to the left of the stairs in the carpark is a small dirt track that will lead you to some caves. It takes less than a minute to get to the caves and they don't seem to be signposted. We forgot to bring our torches with us, so we couldn't go in and explore (our phone lights wouldn't have been enough). It would be fun to explore them but we're sure they won't be as awesome as the Abbey Caves and Waipu Caves in Northland that we explored!
Sienna watching the waves crash in and out of the tunnel
Bella loves rescuing cicadas she finds on the beach
Entrance to Daddy Watson's Cave
He looks like a really fungi
Know Before You Go
- Take a bag for all of the beautiful rocks and gemstones on the beach
- It's best to go at low tide to collect the rocks and to get to the other side of the beach
- It takes less than 5-minutes to walk here from the carpark (I'm sure it only took us 2!)
- We've never swum here with the kids as the current has always been strong but it may just have been on the days we went (something to be mindful of)
- The track to the beach is high up with no railings on one section, so keep little ones close by
- Take a torch for the caves as your phone light may not be strong enough
- There are no toilets here, but there is one further up Rarangi Beach
Mappy McMap Face
Getting There
Click on the map images above and it will take you to the correct Monkey Bay as there is another Monkey Bay further north which is the wrong one and you'll just end up monkeying around (you love my puns) trying to find the correct place. It's 20-minutes from Blenheim and 25-minutes from Picton.
The caves are called Daddy Watson's Cave on Google Maps and we have no idea who Daddy Watson is but there ya go! The track entrance starts to the left of the stairs and takes less than a minute to get to the caves.
There is plenty of parking at the carpark and the stairs are easy to spot as they start at the carpark.
The caves are called Daddy Watson's Cave on Google Maps and we have no idea who Daddy Watson is but there ya go! The track entrance starts to the left of the stairs and takes less than a minute to get to the caves.
There is plenty of parking at the carpark and the stairs are easy to spot as they start at the carpark.
Conclusion
Monkey Bay may not have any monkeys, but it's an awesome beach to explore caves and find the most beautiful gemstones and rocks. It's best to visit at low tide so you can get round to the other part of the beach without the rocks being in the way and so you can take full advantage of the rock collecting. We recommend stopping in on your way to Whites Bay Beach and bring a bag for all those gemstones and rocks you're absolutely going to collect!
Gallery of Monkey Bay
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More to do in New Zealand
MT MAUNGANUI SUMMIT WALK
TAURANGA You're rewarded with views across Tauranga and you can see across to the active White Island volcano. Lots of cute sheep on this track!
|
TASMAN GLACIER VIEWPOINT TRACK
CANTERBURY Walk the Tasman Glacier View Track and witness the stunning beauty of the largest glacier in New Zealand at Mt Cook.
|
LOWER QUAIL STREAM TO UPPER HARLING TRACK
MARLBOROUGH An incredible 4-hour hike through the rolling Wither Hills and along the ridges. Breathtaking is an understatement!
|
SEND US A MESSAGE, WE LOVE GETTING MAIL! |
DISCOVER |
FOLLOW USBORING (BUT IMPORTANT LEGAL) STUFF |