Cooks Beach & Flaxmill Bay

Cooks Beach is a beautiful stretch of golden sand on the southern shores of Mercury Bay. The most enjoyable way to access is from Whitianga, taking the short ferry ride to Ferry Landing. From here you can walk around to Flaxmill Bay either along Purangi Road or the Whitianga Rock Walk track, before continuing on to Cook's Beach. The Shakespeare Cliff Lookout track is also a lovely walk that takes you to the top of the headland with outstanding vistas, and has a side track to the secluded Lonely Bay.