The sandy beach is popular with surfers and swimmers, and the large estuary of the Ashley River hosts many species of birds.

[3] The Waikuku beach has been rated as one of the ten best to learn to surf at.

[4] Waikuku Beach is described by Statistics New Zealand as a small urban area and covers 1.52 km2 (0.59 sq mi).

[5] Before the 2023 census, the town had a smaller boundary, covering 1.30 km2 (0.50 sq mi).

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 62.2% had no religion, 28.3% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% were Muslim and 1.0% had other religions.