Farewell Spit

Geographical location

Farewell Spit (from english spit = " headland "; maori: Tuhuroa; Dutch: Sand Duining Hoeck ) is a narrow spit of land in the far north of New Zealand's South Island. The Spit stretches from Cape Farewell, the northernmost point of the South Island, to the east.

The Farewell Spit, at the northern limit of the Golden Bay. The spit of land running east -west direction for a distance of over 32 kilometers, about 26 above sea level. The land area consists primarily of silica, although one can find traces of garnet, ilmenite, magnetite, and pyroxene. Their emergence has to thank the extremely strong currents in Cook Strait, the Spit. The constant movement heaps the sand in a hook-like shape. Predictions assume that the promontory will gain alone over the next five years, further two kilometers in length.

The north side of the headland is steeper and less stable than the south side, since it is exposed to continuous currents and wind gusts from the north, the sweep with an average speed of over 25 km / h over the area. The Golden Bay facing side but is much more stable and already covered to a large extent by vegetation. At low tide, the water forms on the side facing away from the wind and flow up to seven kilometers; this creates an approximately 80 square kilometers of mudflats, which is an important food reservoir for many different birds, but is also a deadly trap for regular beach whales.

The Dutchman Abel Tasman in 1642 was probably the first European who got the headland to the face, which he called "Sand Duining Hoeck ." In 1770 reached the next sailors, British Captain James Cook, the area of the Spit. He called the northernmost tip of the South Island as Cape Farewell, because the Cape was the last land area that saw Cook, before he returned to England. The name stuck and the first European settlers in the area named the promontory " Cape Farewell Spit ", over the years, however, the designation of the " Cape " and the current name was shortened.

1869 has begun at the former end of the spit with the construction of a lighthouse, as many ships had been shipwrecked on Farewell Spit. The first lighthouse, a wooden structure, was put into operation on 17 June 1870. However, the wooden structure was not suitable for the site with the frequent sandstorms. In January 1891, a second lighthouse was inaugurated, this time a truss structure of steel. This tower is 27 meters high, the height of fire is 30 meters. The white light is 19 nautical miles (35 km) wide visible, the red 15 nautical miles ( 27 km ).

The location of the lighthouse was initially without any vegetation and thus without protection against sandstorms. It was not until the turn of the century, it was possible to plant pine trees as a windbreak after planting soil had been brought to the Spit. In 1960 the lighthouse was connected to the power supply, before oil and diesel generators were used to generate electricity. 1984 left the last lighthouse keeper his post when the entire system was automated and like most of the still existing beacon from Wellington was remote controlled. The headland is managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and serves as a nature reserve for seabirds. Except for a small area in the far west of the Spit entering the headland is prohibited. An exception to this are guided tours where you can slide down the sand dunes, and can visit the lighthouse and a gannet colony.

Wharariki Beach

5 km west of the beginning of the peninsula, directly on the Cape Farewell begins the Wharariki Beach. Because of the striking rock formations with caves, cliffs, the offshore rocky islands Archway Islands and dunes of the beach is a popular motif for photographers and filming location for the film The Lovely Bones (Lovely Bones ) with Peter Jackson.