West Coast Marine and Coastal Localities:
a Detailed Description of 14 Segments

5.10 Okarito
(Whataroa River – Waihapi Creek, 43 km)

5.9.1 Summary
The Okarito segment comprises a coastal plain backed by marine terraces and broad river flats, interrupted by moraine bluff headlands that are being eroded by wave action. The Okarito Lagoon tidal flat estuary dominates the coastal landscape along with two large rivers (Whataroa and Waiau (Waiho)). The seabed is mostly a uniform shelf grading out to fine sediments, the beaches mainly coarse-grained mixed sand and gravel or cobble, while boulder reefs provide patchy ‘hard shore’ habitat. The area supports marine life that is important to the central West Coast. Access to this coastline is most commonly at Okarito settlement. The coastal plains and terraces are almost all covered in protected forest, but residential development is a feature at Okarito and farming occurs on the Waiau (Waiho) river flats.

Notable features of the Okarito segment include: the coastal settlement of Okarito, coastal accessibility, the network of river mouths and other coastal wetlands, unmodified coastal landscapes, its rich cultural and historic heritage, and the variety of recreational uses.

Large areas of the coastal hinterland are protected as conservation land, especially Westland Tai Poutini National Park, Waitangiroto Nature Reserve and the Okarito Lagoon Wildlife Management Reserve. There are also several specified areas under the Regional Coastal Plan.

Okarito beach towards Kohuamarua Bluff.
Photo: T Hume, NIWA

5.9.2 Natural Features

Coastal Land and Islands
The coastal landforms in this segment reflect the glacial imprint on this central part of the West Coast; prominent landscape features are moraine bluffs, riverbeds, outwash terraces and dunelands. Overall, they remain in a largely unmodified state and the coastal terraces are covered with extensive areas of lowland podocarp forest. The main exceptions to this are:

Forest areas between Okarito and the Waiau (Waiho) River are under intensive pest control, primarily to protect the endangered rowi (Okarito brown kiwi). This segment contains the southern recorded limits on the West Coast for at least eight coastal plant species, such as the kawakawa and some small aquatic herbs.209

The Okarito Lagoon beach has the most extensive dune system in central Westland and retains high biological value despite some degree of modification and encroachment of marram grass and gorse210. Pingao grows in relative abundance in the dunelands, especially at the northern end of Okarito Lagoon, Okarito township and the southern end of Five Mile beach. Introduced marram grass is being controlled on dunes at Three Mile beach.
There are no islands in this segment.

Coastal Wetlands and Waterways
Okarito Lagoon and Waitangiroto River (and indeed the entire network of coastal wetlands from Wanganui River to Five Mile Lagoon), are regarded as wetlands of national importance211 by the Department of Conservation, particularly because of their high numbers and diversity of birds, particularly waterfowl and waders. Okarito Lagoon (3240 ha) is one of the most extensive estuarine areas in the West Coast region and is a landform of geological interest212 and a habitat of outstanding wildlife value213. It comprises sand and mud flats with extensive areas of saltmarsh dominated by sea rush, saltmarsh ribbonwood and jointed rush that provide good cover for birds and fish. Large shellfish beds of cockles, pipi and other bivalves and invertebrates also occupy large areas of the estuary’s mudflats and tidal channels, providing a food source for other species. Okarito Lagoon is biologically valuable as an example of the transition from a saltwater to a freshwater wetland with a mixture of sandy and silty substrate. Okarito and the other estuaries provide spawning and rearing habitat for indigenous fish species, including giant kokopu and inanga214.

Waikukupa River;
Photo: T Hume, NIWA
Omoeroa River and Sandfly Beach
Photo: T Hume, NIWA

Three Mile and Five Mile Lagoons have been rated as habitats of high wildlife value215. Three Mile Lagoon is a 110 ha tidal flat estuary that occasionally fills with fresh water due to a natural blockage of the outlet by beach sediments. It has one of the densest recorded populations of native mistletoe216 and contains areas of saltmarsh vegetation but generally only sparse beds of estuarine invertebrates. Five Mile Lagoon is an 80 ha hapua lagoon wetland that lies within the coastal marine area. It has extensive beds of marginal and aquatic vegetation, primarily rushes, sedges and flax.

The largest rivers discharging into this segment are the Whataroa and Waiau (Waiho) Rivers, with estimated annual suspended sediment discharges of 4.8 and 3.4 million tonnes respectively217. Coastal wetlands are associated with these river mouths and others such as the Omoeroa and Waikukupa (which have been rated as habitats of high wildlife value218). The Waitangiroto River has been rated as a habitat of outstanding wildlife value219. It is a waterway lined with tall kahikatea forest in its lower reaches, best known as the only New Zealand breeding site of the kotuku (along with royal spoonbills and little shags that also nest there). The Waitangiroto River often shares an outlet with the Waitangitaona River.

Seashore and Marine Areas
Moraine shores in this segment comprise boulder ramps extending up to several hundred metres off the shore, which support biological communities that are generally typical of such shores in this central part of the West Coast. The most extensive moraine shore occurs at Kohuamarua Bluff, where moraine boulders form patchy reef habitat around the lower tide levels of the foreshore and up to several hundred metres offshore.

The beaches in the Okarito segment are mostly of mixed sand and gravel, although they tend to be more stony in places (such as at Omoeroa and Waikukupa beaches). Some of the beaches have foreshore ironsand deposits.

Offshore the seabed slopes gradually out across the inner shelf at a gradient of less than two degrees within the territorial limit, reaching a depth of about 160 to 250 metres at the territorial limit. Seabed sediments grade from coarse sand and gravel close to shoreline, to muddy sediments offshore.

Coastal and Marine Wildlife
Kotuku, spoonbills and little shags nest at Waitangiroto River. Waders and other estuarine birds breed, feed and roost in the vicinity of the wetlands, barrier beaches and river mouth areas, with greatest abundance at Okarito Lagoon. Banded dotterels are reported to regularly nest on Okarito Beach220. Relatively high numbers of blue penguins (about 20 to 30) have been reported on the beaches from Three Mile to Five Mile221.

Three Mile Lagoon
Photo: T Hume, NIWA
Five Mile Lagoon
Photo: T Hume, NIWA
Whataroa River and Okarito Lagoon
Photo: T Hume, NIWA

Marine Fish and Other Species
The Okarito coastal segment like the whole West Coast of the South Island, supports a rich diversity of fish and invertebrate species that are fished both commercially and recreationally by a number of fishing methods including trawling, longlining, trolling and set netting.

Inshore trawl fisheries are multi-species and are primarily based on flatfish (several species), red gurnard, red cod, giant stargazer, tarakihi and blue warehou. Other species taken as bycatch include arrow squid, dark ghost shark, ling, barracouta, jack mackerel, spiny dogfish, rig, school shark, sea perch, rough skate and smooth skate222 .

Commercial fisheries for tuna, red cod, flatfish and rig (to mention a few) are an important feature throughout this coastal and inshore segment.

The rocky shores typically support a variety of flora and faunal species such as bull kelp, mussels, limpets, reef stars and coastal reef fish. These are all abundant around Kohuamarua Bluff, including a mussel bed near the northern end of the bluff. Natural sand scour affects most of the rocky shore areas in this segment.

All of the waterways and aquatic habitats in the Okarito segment support whitebait, eels and other native freshwater fish. Surveys have shown that the fish communities of Okarito Lagoon range from marine brackish near the outlet to effectively freshwater in the upper reaches223.

5.9.3 Historical and Archaeological Heritage
Early Maori sites are recorded at Okarito Lagoon224, and the area has a significant place in Maori history225 as the site of an early Whare Wananga (house of learning), the home of the kotuku (white heron), a rich mahinga kai, and several kainga nohoanga (settlements).

A monument at Okarito township commemorates Abel Tasman’s first sighting in 1642 of the West Coast of ‘Niew Zeeland’, although the exact location was probably further north. The area also has a rich goldmining history and several associated historic sites, with beach claims having been worked since the first gold rush in the area in 1866.

Commissioner Point
Photo: D Neale, DOC.

Kohuamarua Bluff
Photo: D Neale, DOC.
Okarito Lagoon
Photo: D Neale, DOC.

5.9.4 Recreation and Tourism
Nature-based tourism is a significant activity in this segment, with Okarito and Waitangiroto being the focal points. White Heron Sanctuary Tours operates jet boat trips to the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, and guided access to the kotuku colony along a constructed boardwalk. Okarito Nature Tours provides guided excursions and kayak hire on Okarito Lagoon.

A variety of tourist traffic visits Okarito throughout the year. The Okarito wharf shed and boat launching area is an important access point to the lagoon and the road provides scenic vistas across the lagoon when approaching or leaving the settlement.

The Okarito-Three Mile pack track and coastal route are popular local walks and the Okarito Trig walk provides an expansive view of the coast and the wider forested and glaciated landscape. The beach at Okarito is a popular site for both residents and visitors to the area and DOC interpretation panels provide information about nesting dotterels and pingao.
Recreational fishing in the area includes:

Waterfowl shooting and recreational boating occurs in Okarito Lagoon, as does set netting for flatfish and kahawai. Mussel gathering occurs at a bed near the northern end of Kohuamarua Bluff. The mudflats provide good walking routes to upper reaches of the lagoon around low tides.

5.9.5 Commercial Use
This area, like most of the inshore West Coast, is fished by commercial fishers using a variety of methods, the most common being bottom trawl226 – see above. Vessels mostly operate out of Greymouth, but also Westport and Nelson.

Okarito Lagoon is one (of five listed) of the ‘substantial water bodies’ on the West Coast available for commercial eel fishing227, and the only one within the coastal marine area.

Two mining licenses exist on the coastal strip fronting Okarito Lagoon, two at Five Mile and three on the Omoeroa-Waikukupa beaches. Blacksand goldmining using mechanical means has occurred historically on the barrier beaches at Waikukupa and at Five Mile.


Okarito settlement
Photo: D Neale, DOC.
Okarito Lagoon
Photo: D Neale, DOC.

5.9.6 Other Public Uses and Facilities
The main public access (including vehicle access) to the coastal marine area in this segment occurs at Okarito settlement. Access is also possible by walking or boating down the Whataroa and Waitangitaona Rivers, thereby gaining access to the white heron colony; there is a vehicle track down the lower Waiho River to its mouth. Public access to other parts of the Okarito segment is mainly by walking, boat or beach vehicle from these points. Access across waterways and along the coast is possible along the full length but restricted by the tide at several points, especially at Okarito Lagoon, major river mouths, and Kohuamarua Bluff. Walking access to the southern reaches of this coastline is possible from the Gillespies Beach pack track and coastal route past Galway Point.

The main settlement is at Okarito where a combination of private residences and holiday accommodation form a cluster of several dozen buildings. A public water supply is pumped from a well in the mudflats behind the settlement, and waste water is mostly managed using private septic tanks. Coastal flooding of buildings and properties sometimes occurs at Okarito, usually as a result of natural blockage of the lagoon outlet causing a backup of water in the lagoon.

There are Resource Management Act coastal permits issued in this segment228 for:

5.9.7 Existing Protection and Management Areas
Most of the coastal land in the Okarito segment is under some form of formal protection. In the north, much of the Waitangitaona, Waitangiroto and Lake Windermere areas are within the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve and other conservation lands. Much of the land on the spit and islands of Okarito Lagoon (and probably some wet margins within the coastal marine area) is within the Okarito Lagoon Wildlife Management Reserve. Most of the land inland and south of Okarito Lagoon is within Westland Tai Poutini National Park.

Whitebaiting is not permitted in non-tidal areas, nor upstream of ‘back pegs’ on the Whataroa, Waitangitaona and Omoeroa Rivers229.

Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, Lake Windermere and Five Mile Lagoon are “significant water bodies which are closed to commercial eel fishing” (on account of their protected land status)230.

Okarito Lagoon is a Ngai Tahu Statutory Acknowledgement Area231.

The area lies within Fisheries Statistical Area FSA 33, which is part of the Challenger Fishery Management Area (FMA 7). The adjoining land area is within the Westland District.

Wetlands in this segment are presently being investigated by the Department of Conservation as possible ‘wetlands of international importance’ in terms of the Ramsar Convention – the international treaty established (in association with the World Conservation Union (IUCN)) for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of wetlands.

The operative West Coast Regional Coastal Plan recognises:

Waitangiroto Lagoon with Okarito Lagoon in distance
Photo: T Hume, NIWA

Waiau (Waiho) rivermouth
Photo: T Hume, NIWA

Waiau (Waiho) River
Photo: T Hume, NIWA

209 Overmars et al, unpublished DOC data
210 Johnson 1992
211 Partridge 2004, Cromarty & Scott 1995, Davis 1987, Morse 1981
212 Hayward & Kenny 1999
213 Coker & Imboden 1980
214 Davis 1987
215 Coker & Imboden 1980
216 D. Norton pers comm 1998
217 Hicks & Shankar 2003
218 Coker & Imboden 1980
219 Coker & Imboden 1980
220 R. Stewart pers comm 1997
221 Hughes 2005
222 Stevenson & Hanchet 2000
223 M. Morrison pers comm 2006
224 Hooker 1990
225 Ngai Tahu Settlement Act 1998
226 Booth et al 2005
227 Tai Poutini Tuna 1999
228 www.wcrc.govt.nz “Maps on the Web”, June 2006
229 Whitebait Fishing (West Coast) Regulations 1994
230 Tai Poutini Tuna 1999
231 Ngai Tahu Settlement Act 1998

Okarito MapHabitats & Ecosystems People & UseAnimals & Plants Existing Protection & Management Plans Cook Canyons Submission Form