Farewell Spit

Farewell Spit is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Tākaka and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Collingwood. The small settlement of Pūponga is situated close to the western (landward) end of the spit.

The Māori name for the spit is Onetahua, translated as "heaped up sand".[1]

Abel Tasman in 1642 was the first European to see the spit, calling it Sand Duining Hoeck. Captain James Cook was the next European visitor in 1770,[2] showing Farewell Spit as a broad peninsula on his maps. He named close-by Cape Farewell, and the name stuck, with early European settlers originally calling the sandbanks 'Cape Farewell Spit' before it was shortened to its present name. It was the last land Cook sighted after leaving New Zealand for Australia at the end of his first voyage.[3]

Farewell Spit looking east from Pūponga

Farewell Spit forms the northern side of Golden Bay and is the longest sandspit in New Zealand, including around 25 kilometres (16 mi) of stable land and another 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of mobile sand spit. The spit runs from west to east, and is formed from fine golden-coloured quartz sands, derived from the erosion of granites and other rocks in the Southern Alps, and transported northwards along the West Coast by longshore drift with the Westland current.[2][4]

The area of the spit is about 11,388 hectares (28,140 acres). Approximately 1,961 hectares (4,850 acres) is above mean high water, with an intertidal zone of about 9,427 hectares (23,290 acres).[5]

The sand structures of Farewell Spit consist of two interacting systems. On the southern side of the spit there are older and relatively stable sand masses, separated by shallow lakes and swamps. On the northern side are more recent sand masses that undergo active erosion and accumulation as a result of winds and the deposition from the longshore current.[6] Sand dunes known as barchans are formed on the spit because of the influence of winds predominantly from the west, and these dunes move in an easterly direction. The downwind face is steep and has a crescent shape.[7]

The northern side of the dunes are steeper and unstable being constantly exposed to the prevailing winds that average over 25 km/h (16 mph). The southern side that faces Golden Bay is more stable and largely covered with vegetation. The tide here can recede as much as seven kilometres (4.3 mi) exposing some 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi) of mud flats; a rich feeding ground for the many seabirds in the area but also a trap for frequently stranded whales.

Farewell Spit is a legally protected area of Crown property, and is classified as a Nature Reserve under s20 of the Reserves Act 1977.[8] The spit was originally established as a Flora and Fauna Reserve in 1938. In 1980, the status was altered to Nature Reserve, and the adjacent inter-tidal zone designated as a Wildlife Sanctuary.[9]

Farewell Spit was designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1976, when the convention came into effect in New Zealand.[10][11] In 2000, to recognise the importance of the site to migratory birds, Farewell Spit was designated an East Asian–Australasian Flyway Shorebird Network Site.[12] New Zealand became a partner in the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) in September 2011.[13]

Farewell Spit provides a wide variety of habitat for birds, including ocean sand beaches, bare and vegetated sand dunes, salt marshes, and lakes both freshwater and brackish.[2] These habitats support internationally important numbers of bar-tailed godwit, red knot, ruddy turnstone and banded dotterel, as well as the endemic variable and South Island pied oystercatchers.[14] The dunes at the end of the spit support the only sea-level colony of Australasian gannets in the world. The eelgrass (Zostera) beds on the tidal flats are used by the largest moulting population of black swans in New Zealand.[15]

Sand dunes on Farewell Spit

Farewell Spit was leased for grazing from around the 1850s, and extensive damage to vegetation was caused by grazing and fires. In 1938, the area was given protection and designated as a sanctuary. However, wild cattle remained in the area, and 258 were removed in the 1970s.[7]

The adjoining Puponga Farm was originally purchased by the Crown to serve primarily as a buffer zone to protect the Farewell Spit Nature Reserve. Later purchases of Whararaki and Cape Farewell Farms helped to create a viable farm management unit, conserve biological and landscape values, and provide opportunities for public recreation. Puponga Farm Park serves as a visitor management and servicing area for the Farewell Spit Nature Reserve .[9]

As at 2021, there are still feral pigs on Farewell Spit, and these animals are a significant threat to nesting birds.

The Onetahua Restoration project has been launched with the aim of eradicating pests from Whanganui Inlet on the West Coast, all the way to Farewell Spit, covering an area of more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres). The project is a joint initiative between Farewell Wharariki HealthPost Nature Trust, Tasman Environmental Trust and Manawhenua ki Mohua.[27][28]

The automated lighthouse at the end of Farewell Spit

The Farewell Spit Lighthouse at the end of the spit was first lit on 17 June 1870 in response to many ships having been wrecked upon the spit.[29] The original timber tower did not stand up well to the frequent blasting by the sand and salt-laden winds experienced at the end of the spit. The hardwood used started to decay rapidly and the original tower was replaced in 1897 by the present structure, the only steel latticework lighthouse in New Zealand.[30]

The foundations of the lighthouse are only just above sea level, so the lighthouse tower has to be taller than usual for other lighthouses around New Zealand's coast. The light of the 27-metre-high (89 ft) tower can be seen for 35 kilometres (22 mi). The light was fully automated and the last lighthouse keeper was withdrawn in 1984.[30] The lighthouse keeper's house and two accommodation buildings are still being maintained for use by the Department of Conservation, Maritime New Zealand, and tour groups.

Four-wheel drive bus tours from Collingwood or Pūponga operated by concession-holders include the opportunity to jump off a sand dune, a visit to the lighthouse and the gannet colony.

Valmarie aground in 1922

Farewell Spit has been the site of many shipwrecks and vessel strandings, particularly in the era of merchant sailing vessels. Most of these incidents occurred when a vessel became grounded on sand in shallow water near the Spit either through navigational errors or being driven ashore in adverse weather. Particularly notable losses include the Queen Bee that ran aground off Farewell Spit in 1877[31][32] and the SS Port Kembla that was sunk by a mine 17 km off the spit in 1917.[33]

Volunteers attempt to keep body temperatures of beached pilot whales from rising at Farewell Spit

Farewell Spit has been the location of many herd strandings of long-finned pilot whales, and has been described as a ‘whale trap’, because of its protruding coastlines and long, gently sloping beaches.[41]

• Petyt, Chris (1999). Farewell Spit : a changing landscape : history and natural history. Takaka, New Zealand: Terracotta Books. ISBN 0473055392.
• Schuckard, Rob; Melville, David S. (2013). Shorebirds of Farewell Spit, Golden Bay and Tasman Bay (PDF). The Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 April 2022 – via Nelson Public Library.
• Butler, D.J. (November 2008). Tasman District Biodiversity Overview – Indigenous terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates (PDF). Tasman District Council. ISBN 978-1-877445-06-4. Retrieved 20 April 2022.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farewell Spit.

• Map of Farewell Spit at Ramsar.org
• Farewell Spit and Puponga Farm Park at the Department of Conservation
• Farewell Spit Nature Reserve and Puponga Farm Management Plan (1990) at the Department of Conservation
• Farewell Spit Tours concession holder website
• Onetahua Restoration pest-free project website

40°31′S 172°52′E