Riedle and Shoal bays lie to either side of the low sandy McRaes Isthmus, which links the two parts of the island. Riedle Bay faces east into the high waves of the Tasman Sea and is bordered by moderate to steep bedrock slopes reaching 344 m at Perpendicular Mountain. Moderate easterly waves refract into the bay with highest waves along the northern shore decreasing into the southern corner. The Riedle Bay beach (MI 3) forms the eastern side of the isthmus. It faces east and curves round between the two sides of the island for 3.8 km. The northern end at Elephant Bight receives waves averaging over 1 m, which maintain a low gradient rip-dominated 50-100 m wide surf zone (Fig 4.49). Wave height decreases slowly down the beach reducing to about 0.5 m in the southern north-facing Trigonia Corner, where the beach maintains a lower energy low tide terrace. This is the only beach on the island offering any surf. The beach is backed by well-vegetated dunes averaging 10 m in height and extending 100-200 m inland. They are linked in the centre with the dunes originating from Shoal Bay beach. Between Trigonia Corner and the beginning of Shoal Bay are 18 km of rocky shore which surrounds the southern half of the island and includes cliffs rising to 200-300 m along the Glenloth Cliffs. read more

Beach Length: 3.8km