It’s a moonscape of sand dunes—some 40 metres high—and sparsely vegetated with pingao grasses, spinifex and the feathery white plumes of native toetoe that are habitat for plovers, wrybills and black oystercatchers.

But watch your step. The shores of Parengarenga Harbour support a number of rare birds and plants, including the endemic sand daphne. Avoid walking on sand dunes, areas where birds are nesting or anywhere where vegetation maintains a fragile hold.