A soft, scenic beach run along the coast that lets you skip SH3 between Bulls and Wanganui. The route tracks the open sand from Bulls up to Turakina, passing the lagoon at Koitiata and exiting near Scott's Ferry. Locals love it, plenty drive it heading out fishing.

This was one of the harder beach runs I've done, so it's best not tackled alone unless you're used to driving on sand. The sand can be very soft in places, especially around the Scott's Ferry exit, so drop your tyre pressures (around 18PSI works) and stay closer to the sea where it's firmer.

Time your trip for low tide. At high tide you'll be trapped by a salt-water creek crossing and some sections become impassable. Check the creeks before crossing, as they can turn to quicksand and wobble like jelly, and follow existing tracks where you can. Finding the way past the lagoon and picking up the exit can be tricky, so keep the Navigator app running.