Last updated October 2026
Sandy Point is the sand and shingle peninsula west of Invercargill, managed by Invercargill City Council as Sandy Point Domain. The Ōreti River and New River Estuary lie along one side, and Foveaux Strait along the other.
The reserve covers more than 2,000 hectares of beach, river edge, estuary and forest, about 7 kilometres west of the city and a short drive from Otatara.
A 13.5 kilometre network of formed walking tracks runs through native bush and open coastal country, and the domain is a designated dog exercise area. Picnics, playgrounds and club sport share the land with remnant forest that is scarce this close to the urban edge.
Official Locality Facts
- Land area
- 13.87 km²
- Location
- 9.4 km south-west of central Invercargill
- Council
- Invercargill City Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Otatara, Oreti Beach
- Setting
- Sand and shingle peninsula between the Ōreti River and Foveaux Strait
- Managed by
- Invercargill City Council
- Walking network
- 13.5 km of well-formed tracks
- Dogs
- Designated exercise area; on-lead on formed tracks; kept out of sports grounds, play equipment and wildlife ponds
- Playgrounds
- Fosbender Park, 310 Dunns Road; Water Ski Area, 9 Daffodil Bay Road
- Boat access
- Possible from the New River Estuary, the Ōreti River or Foveaux Strait
In Sandy Point
Places and businesses inside the official Sandy Point boundary.
Places
About Sandy Point
Mountain bike trails in the domain are shown as only partly open on the council parks page, and forestry work has closed short sections of road and trail at times. Check the Invercargill City Council page and the signs on site before you ride, and stay out of taped-off or work areas.
The peninsula is one of the few remaining native forest areas in the Invercargill urban setting. Council describes it as a place for picnics, play, walking, running and outdoor learning, as well as a home for leased club activity.
The ground is low and coastal: shingle and sand, lagoon and bush, with the river on one flank and the strait on the other.
Long before the city was laid out, the resources here supported a Māori kāika called Ōue, also recorded as Owi or Oui. The name comes from that settlement on the eastern shore.
Honekai, a principal chief of Murihiku, was living there in the 1820s before many of his people moved to Ruapuke. Sealers and whalers changed the coast; a whaling station set up in 1836 did not last.
Owen McShane was the first European settler. Māori had used the cabbage tree, tī kōuka, for food and clothing; McShane became known for rum distilled from its roots. Whalers turned to farming. By the 1880s, over-grazing, fire and rabbits had opened the dunes to serious erosion. Forestry and dune planting later held the sand.
Until 1929 the estuary was the only highway onto Sandy Point. The Dunns Road bridge opened on 20 November 1929, and the peninsula is now about a ten-minute drive from the city.
After the kāika was abandoned in the 1870s, Sandy Point became the name used for the whole area, and Ōue dropped out of everyday use. The domain is still the reason most people come: bush walks, a river edge, open coast, and room for dogs and club sport on the same reserve.
Getting There
Follow Dunns Road from Otatara to Sandy Point Road, the main road into the reserve. Most of the domain is reached from Sandy Point Road, which is sealed as far as the Daffodil Bay Road turnoff.
Pit Road is an alternative into some areas. The council access notes describe the drive and boat approaches; they do not set out a bus route, so plan on a car unless you are arriving by water.
Use formed parking where it is signed, and expect forestry traffic or short detours when harvesting is under way. A past harvest notice sent trucks along Sandy Point Road and Dunns Road and closed a section of Sandy Point Road between Christies Road and the southern Daffodil Bay Road intersection, with a detour via Daffodil Bay Road. Those works were temporary. Read the current council notice if you are visiting while logging is advertised.
Walks, Dogs and Play
The walking network is 13.5 kilometres of well-formed track. Named routes on the council page include the Daffodil Bay Loop, the Kilmock Bush Walkway and the Silver Lagoon Loop.
The council dog-track list also includes Rover Track, Petrie’s Track and McShanes Track (with the Silver Lagoon route), plus shared walk and cycle paths on Dunns Road, Pit Road and the Ōreti edge.
The council points walkers to Plan My Walk for track detail. Individual loop lengths are not set out on the main parks page, so treat the 13.5 kilometre figure as the network, not one circuit.
Sandy Point Domain is a designated dog exercise area. Dogs may be off the lead except around playgrounds and on formed walking tracks, where a lead is required.
The council dog map also keeps them off marked sports grounds, out of the area within 10 metres of play equipment, and away from ponds and lagoons set aside as wildlife habitat. Horse-trekking trails and mountain bike trails in the domain are listed among places where lead rules apply.
Two playgrounds are published. Fosbender Park, at 310 Dunns Road, has a swing, a climbing frame, a tyre swing and a seesaw. The Water Ski Area playground, at 9 Daffodil Bay Road, has two swing sets, a play module, a balance beam, a flying fox, a seesaw and a roundabout.
Leased areas are used by groups including Georgetown Scouts, the Invercargill Kart Club, Southland Orienteering Club, the Southland Sled Dog Association, Southland Triathlon and Multisport Club, Southland Harriers, and St Pauls Harriers and Athletics Club.
The sled dog club uses trails around Kilmock Bush and training trails at Fosbender Park. Mountain bike trails sit elsewhere in the reserve and are the routes most often affected by closures.
Coast and Water
Beach, river and estuary are part of the same reserve, not a separate park down the road. The peninsula fronts Foveaux Strait and is bounded by the Ōreti River, with the New River Estuary on the city side of the drive in. That mix is the coastal character of Sandy Point: a sheltered river edge in some places, and open southern coast in others.
No swim grade for a Sandy Point site was confirmed in the sources used here. Treat river, estuary and strait water with care. Stay out after heavy rain, watch for cold water and changing weather, and do not assume a lifeguard is on duty.
Boats can reach parts of the reserve from the New River Estuary, the Ōreti River or Foveaux Strait. The council note does not describe a public ramp, so check local signage before you launch.
Near Sandy Point
Just outside Sandy Point, within 10 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Invercargill City Council: Sandy Point Domain: access, walking tracks, playgrounds, dogs, club use and a short history.
Invercargill City Council dog areas and tracks: where dogs may be off-lead, and which Sandy Point tracks require a lead.
Sandy Point Domain Reserve Management Plan appendices: early place names, including Ōue, and notes on club trail areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Sandy Point?
It is the peninsula and locality west of Invercargill, in Invercargill City. Sandy Point Domain is the large council reserve on that peninsula, about 7 kilometres west of the city.
How do I get there?
Drive via Otatara and Dunns Road onto Sandy Point Road. The road is sealed until the Daffodil Bay Road turnoff. Pit Road reaches some other parts of the reserve. Boat access is possible from the New River Estuary, the Ōreti River or Foveaux Strait.
Is there an entry charge?
The council parks page does not list an entry charge for the domain or its walking tracks. Some areas are leased to clubs, so a specific facility may have its own rules.
Are dogs allowed?
Yes. It is a designated dog exercise area. Keep dogs on a lead on formed walking tracks, away from marked sports grounds, at least 10 metres from play equipment, and out of ponds and lagoons managed as wildlife habitat.
What walks are there?
There is a 13.5 kilometre network of well-formed tracks, including the Daffodil Bay Loop, Kilmock Bush Walkway and Silver Lagoon Loop, plus Rover Track, Petrie’s Track and shared paths toward the Ōreti edge. Use Plan My Walk, as the council suggests, for route detail.
Can I mountain bike?
There are mountain bike trails, but the council has marked them as only partly open, and harvest work has closed some trails and short road sections at times. Follow signs and do not enter cordoned areas.
What was Sandy Point called before?
The earlier recorded name was Ōue, also spelt Owi or Oui, from the Māori kāika on the eastern shore. Sandy Point came into use as the name for the whole area after that settlement was abandoned in the 1870s.
Is this the same as Ōreti Beach?
The domain includes beach as well as river, estuary and forest, and it sits beside the Ōreti River and Foveaux Strait. This page is about the Sandy Point peninsula and reserve, not a swimming or surf guide to the longer beach.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Explore Invercargill only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Sandy Point is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.