This breathtakingly beautiful place, of huge ecological significance, is an international bird sanctuary, wild life reserve and home of the whales. It's exhilarating and alive, and yet, I just couldn't shake the feeling that here too, is a desolate and forlorn place.
You know that here is somewhere special, the moment you arrive.
Farewell Spit is the most protected place in New Zealand, more so than our national parks, because of its ecology. Although you can wander around the end of the spit that is closest to land, the rest is closed to the public. The only way to explore further is with Farewell Spit Eco Tours.
Fossil Point is marked by the towering sandstone cliffs that meet the Tasman Ocean, where the beach was littered with lazy seals. The layers of rock, shell and sediment make a fascinating geological history of the formation of this wild and lonely landscape.
Here the tide can recede up to seven kilometres exposing about 80 square kilometres of mud flats revealing a rich feeding ground for the sea birds in the area, but also a trap for frequently stranded whales.
The spit has claimed around 680 Whales since records began.
“A remarkable day journey across an isolated, windswept sandbar that stretches 35 kilometres from the top western corner of the South Island,and curves out like a kiwi's beak on the map."
At the tip of the spit is a lonely lighthouse, that has stood there since the 1870's.
The original tower was replaced in 1897 by the present structure, the only steel latticework lighthouse in New Zealand
Onetahua is the ancient Maori name given to Farewell Spit. It means ‘sand formation’.
Onetahua is reflected as the birthing place of the Tohora (whales) and the place they return to at the end of their life (whale strandings). The whales are seen as Kaitiaki (guardians) in the Rohe (home boundary) for Iwi Katoa.
コメント