Ohawe Beach

Here in our house at Denby Heights, Ohawe beach is only 1.5 km away to the south.
The boys and I have been down three times and the different character
of the beach has been striking.  A sign at the beach warns that
walking along the beach is only recommended within 2.5 hours of low
tide.  That's understandable because the beach ends at the base of a

High Tide

cliff of volcanic ash roughly 50 ft high.

Volcanic ash cliff

Low tide

The sand is volcanic and about the same color as asphalt.  A few days later we went down near low tide and it's easy to see why swimming isn't recommended.  Rocks.  Big rocks.  Lots of them.