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Rarangi history and information
Where does the name "Rarangi" originate?
It has a lot of different meaning in the Maori language and some are as follows:

“ra” - day, sun, sail(fabric)
“rangi" - sky, weather, day, tune, head, chief, etc
“rarangi” - line, column, sentence

A lot of meanings seem to be appropriate one way or another such as sunny skies, sunny weather, sunny day, sun rise or starting the day. “Rarangi” as one word can also mean line, such as the coastline or the biggest line as we perceive it would be the horizon.

The beach and shoreline of Cloudy Bay is boulders and pea gravel. In the northern part the seafloor is sand. On rare occasions after an exceptionally heavy storm, the boulders and gravel are covered by sand and the beach becomes a sandy beach.This  only  usually lasts only a couple of days.

It is not the safest beach to go swimming infact most people do believe it is too dangerous. However, we have always swum here and find it ok for reasonably good swimmers. There is a bit of a current to be aware of and usually quite a bit of surf which would scare most people. The water is quite cold all year round and never gets over 20 C. We do lots of boogy boarding and kayaking here.

The southern beach from the White Bluff to the Wairau River mouth splis the lagoons from the sea and is called the Boulder Bank.

In 1939 Jim Eyles found the graves of the Moa Hunters who established there 900-1000 years ago. This is one of New Zealands most famous archeological site. The Maori name for Boulder Bank is “Te Pokoiwi”.

At the northern end of the beach is Rarangi. Here is where we can find  caves which were formed by the action of waves in fractured rock at a time when the sea reached further inland.
We know from fish hooks and shell remains around these caves from stone walled gardens near the hills and a rich history passed down the generations, that people have been in this area for around  900 years.

The beginning of the European dwellings at Rarangi were in the 1880s when John C Chaytor took over the Marshlands. The Crown retained ownership of the flat. Jack Smith, a Picton butcher, leased Puketea farm which extended as far as White's Bay. The farm was named after the Pa situated on the hill looking down on White's Bay. It appeared to be on  Maori land. In the early 1920s the road was following down the beach sand and scrub coming around the west side of the plantation of Jack Smith's.

Recreation has been Rarangi’s main attraction since 1920, when the track from Blenheim was improved enough to take bicycles and wagons and. It was not long before cars could reach Rarangi in 1924 the first baches were being built.

A well, only 12 feet deep, was put down. The houses mainly relied on rain for their water supply. The well is still there today.

Schools were holding their annual picnics down at the beach with a grassy patch under the hill and caves for the children to play.
Schools as far as Renwick which seems unbelievable came for a picnic and it would have
been the first time for the children to see the sea.
In the years after World War II a popular weekend activity for Blenheim residents was to drive to the road end to buy fresh fish from boatsheds.
In 1926 Terry Hebberd took over Pukatea Farm from Jack Smith but shifted two years later  a few hundred meters to the south out of the shadow of the hill which had few hours of  sunlight, and none in winter.

I would like to aknowledge Derek Hebberd who supplied me with the historical facts. – Gabriella Martin

How to get here

If arriving at Blenheim Airport (Woodbourne), first follow signs to Blenheim (State Highway 6), then from Blenheim, take State Highway 1 north (towards Picton), and turn off right at Tuamarina. Follow the signs to Rarangi Beach. We are directly opposite the golf course on Rarangi Beach Rd.

From Picton or Picton Airport (Koromiko), take State Highway 1 south (towards Blenheim), and turn off left at Tuamarina. Follow the signs to Rarangi Beach. We are directly opposite the golf course on Rarangi Beach Rd.