The NZ beach you never realised was world famous

When the picture above of a stunning local beach popped up on council computers as a screensaver, workers assumed their IT team was behind it.

In fact, the photo has been made famous across the world – all thanks to Microsoft.

Located at the top of the South Island in Golden Bay, Wharariki Beach became a not-so-secret hidden gem in 2015 after it came out as one of the Windows 10 desktop screensavers.

Communications manager for the Tasman District Council Chris Choat said the Wharariki beach screensaver is just a reminder “to us especially, what we think is ordinary is extraordinary to others”.

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When the screensaver first rolled out at the local District Council, staff thought it was their personal IT department that had set it up. It only occurred to a few members afterward that it was part of the Microsoft company.

“It gave us all a bit of excitement at the time,” Choat said.

Earlier this year Choat received a call from a member of the public asking if they knew the famous beach was in their area.

Choat couldn’t believe it had taken people so long to realise, “it’s apparent that many New Zealanders haven’t seen that side of the Tasman district,” he said.

Wharariki Beach is best known to locals for its seal pups that swim and splash around in the tidal pools, its sand dunes and caves.

Wharariki Beach Holiday Park owner Dion Leigh said around 1 in 3 people come into reception and ask how to get to the renowned landmark that he calls Lion Head Island.

“We have pictures up and one’s the screensaver, people just point at the rock and ask where to go.”

Leigh who has owned the holiday park for over 16 years said people who come to visit the attraction don’t always get the full experience due to the tides.

“One thing people must know is that if you haven’t timed the tides, you aren’t going to get the whole beach.”

Another vital piece of advice from Leigh was parking.

The hardest part of getting to the Microsoft screensaver is securing a spot in the car park.

“It (the car park) just fills up, sometimes cars are parked lining up on the road. If you want to get a park then get there early.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said the photos selected to be their screensavers are purposefully looked for around the world to bring a moment of “joy” and “wanderlust” as people navigate work and life on their computers.

The Microsoft team said they consistently listen to customer feedback on images that people would like to see and that resonates with them.

”Our goal is to find places we haven’t explored before. The team that selects the images gathers a large group of people to review, bringing as many unique voices to the process as possible.” they said.

Managing director of Microsoft New Zealand Vanessa Sorenson said seeing Aotearoa represented to millions around the world in this kind of way was “extra special”.

“We’re big supporters of seeing our local reo, culture and landscapes reflected on the platforms Kiwis use every day,” she said.

The world-famous beach can be found by driving through Collingwood at the top of the South Island and passing Puponga before reaching the Wharariki car park.