NZ sandbar vies for possible World Heritage site
29 May 2007
The unique natural environment of Farewell Spit, at the northernmost tip of New Zealand’s South Island, has landed the area on UNESCO’s tentative list for World Heritage Sites.
Farewell Spit is the longest natural sandbar in the world. Maori named the spit Onetahua, meaning 'heaped up sand' and the sandbar stretches out 35km into the Cook Strait.
The Spit is one of New Zealand’s most important wading-bird habitats, and one of only three areas in New Zealand to be designated a Wetland of International Importance.
Only two hours from Nelson near Collingwood, Farewell Spit is easily accessible. A wildlife sanctuary since the 1930s, its dunes provide a haven for over 90 bird species including the black swan, Australasian gannet, Caspian tern, southern black-backed gull, red-billed gull and variable oystercatcher. Many of these birds migrate 12,000 kilometres each year from the Northern Hemisphere.
The base of Farewell Spit offers numerous walking opportunities such as Totaranui, which provides a memorial to Maori and European’s first contact. Other walking spots include Aorere, which runs through the Aorere Valley and the renowned Heaphy Track, and Whanganui, running west, taking hikers to the beautiful Kaihoka Lakes.
The lighthouse situated at the top of Farewell Spit is a well-known landmark. It presents historical tales and insight about how the families who once lived there survived in isolation. The original lighthouse was built of wood, and the iron lighthouse preceding this has been there since 1897.
Local guide Paddy Gillooly has a family history as old as Collingwood. Paddy is the manager of the original ‘Farewell Spit Safari’. His tours are the legacy of the original mail run to the lighthouse, which his family started in 1946. Paddy’s Irish ancestors arrived in Collingwood’s 1857 goldrush and never left. His company, Farewell Spit Eco Tours, provides visitors with an opportunity to experience Farewell Spit and learn about the area’s history and ecological importance.
To protect the area’s unique environment, the Department of Conservations has permitted only two companies to operate tours to Farewell Spit: Farewell Spit Eco Tours and Farewell Spit Experience.
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