Many of us see this beach thousands of times a year, but many don’t know its location, and to actually visit is a long, arduous journey from the UK involving flights, driving, and hiking
Do you recognise this famous beach?(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Whether you work from home or in an office, when you turn your laptop on in the morning you’re likely to see the same image as millions of other users around the globe.
Before signing in for the day, Windows users see a lock screen with a default image of a beautiful beach. Through an archway you can see its golden sands and inviting blue waters, as well as two distinctive rock formations rising from the ocean. It’s a pleasant image to gaze at when contemplating the day ahead.
But despite this image being one that many workers see thousands of times a year, the location of this iconic beach is something that most of us don’t think about. However, a few determined people have tracked down the precise location of the photograph and even tried to recreate the exact framing of the world-famous shot.
Internet sleuths were quick to identify the location of the photo as Wharariki Beach, which sits on the northernmost tip of New Zealand’s South Island. But getting there isn’t as easy as opening a laptop, it’s in a remote location, so visitors need to take a 20-minute hike from the car park through winding sand dunes to get there.
The beach is famous for its caves and rock formations, which can only be explored at low tide. While the sea may look inviting in the photos, especially on a Monday morning at work, it has strong rips and undercurrents meaning swimming is not recommended. It can also be extremely windy, so visitors should bring layers when exploring.
The beach’s remote location has allowed a seal colony to thrive, and in the early summer months you can see seal pups frolicking on the sand and in rock pools.
The iconic Windows photo also includes the Archway Islands, a group of four rock stacks that sit on one end of the beach. These islands are tiny, the largest measuring only 300 by 200 metres, yet have managed to achieve global fame thanks to the Windows backdrop.
Instagram’s Wharariki Beach page now boasts over 12,000 posts, with many visitors referencing the iconic photograph in their captions, and many have tried to recreate the exact angle looking through the archway.
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Should you decide to take a trip to Wharariki Beach, it’s a fairly long journey for Brits. There are no direct flights to New Zealand, so with connecting flights, it can take about 24-hours to get to Auckland. You’d then need to get to the South Island, with a domestic flight to Nelson taking about 90 minutes, then it’s nearly a three-hour drive plus a hike to get to the beach.
So, unless you’ve got a lot of air miles to spend and annual leave to book, you may be better off appreciating the view from the comfort of your laptop screen.
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