I love the Wairau Lagoons. I brought a property over-looking the 2,400 hectare tidal lagoon in the lower Wairau Valley, Marlborough in 1995. Something about it drew me.
Little did I know I would one day be guiding local and international visitors by kayak and four wheel drive vehicle. After consultation the land owners for the Vernon Station granted us permission to access their beautiful property to see the lagoon from a very special perspective. We have the privilege of passing through locked gates to explore an ecological and geological wonderland.
I always marvel and the view from Jamie’s knob named after the late Jamie Balfour. The view offers views of the historically significant Awatere Valley, the Wairau Valley famous for its wine production and on a fine day the North Island.
The White Bluffs, Te Parinui o Whiti are were we stop for morning tea of home baked apple cake and bacon and egg pie. This is where the bullock trail was before roads were made. I love to paint a picture for visitors of the men and animals who used this beach as the only ‘highway’.
Views over the Wairau Lagoon can be rewarding for photographers and bird watchers. White fronted tern, Australasian harrier, Black fronted tern, Black swan, Caspian Royal spoonbill & White faced heron are a few of over ninety species of bird that maybe seen in this area. You can see more of the birds which you might see here
The Wairau Lagoon was the first known site of human occupation, home to the Polynesian tribe often called the Moa Hunters. Moa is a large ostrich sized extinct bird. It was hunted for food by the Moa Hunter as there were no sizeable land mammals in New Zealand prior to human arrival. The only mammals were the bat and seal.
You can read more about the natural history of the Wairau here
If you would like to visit the Wairau Lagoon with me when you are visiting Marlborough or even if you are a local who would like the opportunity to get to know the area better you can read about the tour we offer here
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