Pakiri Beach is a magnificent walking beach and has a pristine marine environment, but surfers and swimmers beware: surf lifesavers are not always on duty in summer. Fishing and birdwatching are popular activities at Pakiri. You'll often see fishermen with longlines off the beach. One of our most endangered birds, the fairy tern, nests in the dunes in spring. And a gannet colony has just been artificially started on Motuora island with new fledglings this year, so there'll hopefully be regular sightings of these sleek aristocrats plummeting into the deep ocean.