koitiata
Koitiata is a small coastal village situated on the west coast of the North Island, 33kms south of Wanganui, 60kms west of Palmerston North. The village is located adjacent to Turakina Beach and the mouth of the Turakina River.
The community’s backyard is the adjacent beach. They live in a special place … at the beach. It’s the way those living out here on the edge like it, and it is also a place where visitors are made more than welcome.
beach
Turakina Beach begins at the northern end of the Rangitikei coast, adjacent to Koitiata and extends south towards the Rangitikei River.
The beach is a black iron sand beach and nature dictates that it is an ever-shifting landscape. Winds, tides, surf, and the Turakina River mouth, all have an infinite effect on the sand of the beach and dunes.
river
The Turakina River flows past Koitiata when its mouth is next to or south of the village; occasionally, it has shifted to the village’s north. The changes and resulting dune and beach transformations provide a constant source of interest and challenge to Koitiata’s residents and visitors.
A river mouth relocation in 1998 created a lagoon in the old river bed. That lagoon is between the village and the beach, sometimes wet, other times dry.
