Between Joggly Point and Goanna Headland is a 2.5 km long embayment containing the small Red Head beach and the longer Chinamans Beach. They are surrounded by the Dirawong Reserve and backed by the road from Evans Head, which terminates at the Chinamans Beach car park and picnic area. Red Hill beach (NSW 31) is 150 m long and surrounded by rocks and steep 30 m high slopes, with access via walking tracks from Evans Head or Chinamans. Both sand and rocks occupy the surf zone while permanent rips cut the usually attached bar flowing out along both headlands. The isolated location, higher waves, rips and rocks in the surf make this a dangerous swimming beach. A second smaller boulder beach is located just around the northern rocks, but is composed of and fronted entirely by rocks, and is unsuitable for swimming. Between Red Hill and Goanna Headland is a curving 1.5 km wide east-facing embayment containing three beaches. The first is the northern Chinamans beach (NSW 32) a 100 m long high tide cobble-boulder beach, fronted by a wider fine sand surf zone containing two permanent rips and reefs. The main Chinamans Beach (NSW 33) is backed by a car park, grassy picnic and barbque area and a display, with a wooden walkway across a small swamp leading to the centre of the beach. The 1 km long beach receives waves averaging 1-1.5 m, which usually maintain about five rips, including permanent rips against the northern and southern rocks. New Zealand Beach (NSW 34) curves south of Chinamans for 600 m to finally face north in lee of the low Goanna Headland (Fig. 4.25). Wave height decreases toward Goanna Headland resulting in the rips sometimes infilling to form a continuously attached bar with no rips, and safer swimming conditions. However this is still an isolated beach with no facilities or patrols, so be cautious. Goanna Headland is also known as Evans Headland and Snapper Rocks. read more

Beach Length: 1km