Yes really, that beach is here...

New Zealand’s Wharariki Beach has been made world famous on a Microsoft computer screen,.

Located at the top of the South Island in Golden Bay the beach has become known to clients of the software company. Coming out in 2015 as a Windows 10 desktop screensaver, Wharariki Beach became a not-so-secret hidden gem.

Tasman District Council spokesperson Chris Choat said the Wharariki beach screensaver was ‘‘just a reminder, to us especially, what we think is ordinary is extraordinary to others’’.

When the screensaver first rolled out at the Tasman District Council, staff thought it was their personal IT department that had set it up. It only occurred to a few members afterwards that it was part of Microsoft’s offering. ‘‘It gave us all a bit of excitement at the time,’’ Choat said.

But earlier this year Choat received a call from a member of the public asking if the council knew the famous beach was in its area.

‘‘I couldn’t believe it had taken people this long to realise – it is apparent many New Zealanders have not seen that side of the Tasman district.’’

Choat said he liked to visit Wharariki Beach in the early mornings. ‘‘It is like a moonscape.’’

Wharariki Beach is known to locals for its elephant seals as well as its seal pup nursery.

The beach can be found by driving through Collingwood before passing through Puponga.

Wharariki Beach Holiday Park owner Dion Leigh said about one in three people came into reception and asked how to get there.

‘‘We have pictures up and one is the screensaver; people just point at the rock and ask where to go.’’

Leigh said people who came to visit the attraction did not always get the full experience due to the tides. ‘‘One thing people must know is that if you have not timed the tides, you are not going to get the whole beach.’’

Advice from Leigh, who has owned the holiday park for more than 16 years, is to time the tide with Nelson’s and to get there as quickly as possible.

The hardest part of getting to the Microsoft screensaver is securing a spot in the car park. ‘‘It [the car park] just fills up, sometimes cars are parked lining up on the road.’’