Totaranui is the northern road-end of the park — a long, broad beach of golden sand, backed by one of the largest DOC campgrounds in New Zealand. The road in from Takaka is unsealed for the last 12 kilometres and slow going, but it gives you a way to reach the northern end of the park without committing to several days of walking.
The campground (book months ahead for January) is the cheapest accommodation in the park and a base for day walks south along the Coast Track to Anapai Bay or Goat Bay. The beach itself is excellent — calm, shallow, and warm by South Island standards — and the lone pohutukawa near the campground is one of the few in the area.