The CJ way Guide to Whanganui Inlet ​

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 AT A GLANCE 

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Incredible tidal inlet

XXXX

0 minutes from parking

Easy 

Free

Best time to visit: high tide

Jandals/sandals suitable 

 WHERE IS THIS EXACTLY? 

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• Coordinates of XXX (-40.6178456, 172.5347904)

• Coordinates of our favourite spot in the inlet (-40.6178423, 172.5347750)

• 14km north of Collingwood is a small township called Pakawau. Once you get here, you take a left onto Mclure St, which shortly turns into Pakawau Bush Rd. 5km on and this turns into Dry Rd (which is unsealed). Dry Rd continues all the way around Whanganui inlet and you can drive as little or as far as you want . Our favourite spot is about 15km along Dry Rd (what the coordinates above are for)????

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 best time to visit? 

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• High tide.

• Ideal time would be 1-2 hours prior to high tide so you have time to scope the area, and know the tide is still coming in. At low tide the water disappears and looks very brown and muddy.

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 cj travel tips 

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• The road is narrow, windy and unsealed so be careful where you park if you want to pull over.

• Pack your lunch and stay a while as it’s very quiet and you can find amazing spots to relax on the waters edge. Our favourite spot to park up and picnic is XXXX

• This amazing spot feels like the middle of nowhere - there's barely anyone around and won't have any cell phone service so it's a great place to enjoy some peace and quiet! 

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 cj photography tips 

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• Using a drone is the best way to capture this incredible tidal inlet. We felt that any lookouts that were up high were generally blocked by trees (meaning we didn’t use our camera much).

• Use the drone to capture the bridges, as the tide forces the water under the bridge creating cool movement of the water .

• We haven't been at a high tide that's fallen near sunrise or sunset but this could look really cool from up high as you might get colours reflecting in the water. 

• We really enjoyed shooting the island XXXX

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 what we found useful to pack 

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• In addition to the usuals (camera gear, suitable clothing, water and food, first aid, etc. we found the following items useful for Whanganui inlet:

  • two-ways (if separating and using the drone) - we always use our walkie talkies when droning and there's no cell phone service.

  • A picnic - this is a place to park up and stay a while!