New Zealand a top spot for hidden beach hunters: Tunnel Beach, Dunedin. Photo / DunedinNZ
Summer is coming and, if predictions are right, it's going to be a scorcher.
Those sitting through heatwaves and the Northern summer are already dreaming of finding a stretch of coast, far away from others, and New Zealand has plenty of those.
A survey of the world's best hidden beaches has placed New Zealand high on the list of destinations for remote beach hunters.
The paradoxically named "Countries where you'll find the most hidden beaches" was compiled by The Sun Bingo using instagram data and reviews from travel critics. Comparing the top-listed beaches from travel publications versus social media posts, they sought to find the most critically acclaimed but little visited beaches in the world.
The top spot was claimed by the United States, which boasted nine such beaches.
Totaranui Beach on the edge of the Abel Tasman National park washed in at number 4 as New Zealand's top 'hidden beach'.
It was pushed out of the top three by California's black-sand Shelter Cove, Italy's Cala Goloritzè which was created by a landslide and Lipite Beach on Bulgaria's Black Sea.
While New Zealanders might think there is little hidden about the top holiday destination - with Totaranui Holiday park being fully booked most summers - it's not on the radar for many international visitors.
The lack of visitors, or at least the lack of hash-tag bragging, meant that Kiwi beaches amassed a total of 59,645 hashtags compared to the top listing The United States where there were 420,117 beach related posts.
New Zealand's other top "hidden" beaches include the mysterious tunnel beach in Dunedin (27) and the more easily accessed, but no less beautiful Muriwai Beach in west Auckland (30).
20 of the world's best 'hidden beaches'
| Rank | Beach name | Country | Place | Instagram Hashtags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelter Cove | US | California | 124 |
| 2 | Cala Goloritzè | Italy | Ogliastra | 188 |
| 3 | Lipite Beach | Bulgaria | Burgas | 259 |
| 4 | Totaranui Beach | New Zealand | Tasman | 420 |
| 5 | Sandwood Bay | Scotland | Lairg | 510 |
| 6 | Kauapea Beach | US | Hawaii | 527 |
| 7 | Batibou Beach | Dominica | Hampstead | 554 |
| 8 | Vatersay Beach | Scotland | The Outer Hebrides of Scotland | 582 |
| 9 | Jervis Bay | Australia | New South Wales | 632 |
| 10 | Ocracoke | US | North Carolina | 690 |
| 11 | Sandbank Beach | Mozambique | Bazaruto Archipelago | 731 |
| 12 | Koh Lanta | Thailand | Krabi | 1,253 |
| 13 | Anse Source d'Argent | Seychelles | La Digue | 1,864 |
| 14 | Puerto Morelos | Mexico | Quintana Roo | 1,913 |
| 15 | Nanjizal Beach | England | Penzance | 2,028 |
| 16 | Yonaha Maehama Beach | Japan | Miyakojima | 2,300 |
| 17 | Bathsheba Beach | Barbados | Orange Sunrise | 2,324 |
| 18 | Triopetra Beach | Greece | Crete | 2,349 |
| 19 | Assateague Beach | US | Maryland | 2,662 |
| 20 | Fornillo Beach | Italy | Positano | 2,726 |