Sentinel Rd Beach sits at Cowes Bay on Waiheke Island, and carries a 4.2 Google rating.
Waiheke's beaches offer calm, sheltered swimming in the Hauraki Gulf, a different world from Auckland's iron-sand west coast, and the tide shapes any visit. High tide usually brings the best swimming, while at low tide you can find yourself wading a long way before you're past your knees. Away from Oneroa and Onetangi, the island's beaches have little in the way of shops or facilities, so regulars come self-sufficient, with drinking water, shade and food packed in. Summer weekends are busiest, and an early start rewards you with softer light and emptier sand.
Out at Cowes Bay, beyond the island's better-known beaches, Sentinel Rd Beach is the quieter side of Waiheke.