Land & freshwater

In this section:

Wetlands
- Wetlands by region

Northland wetlands

Aupouri Peninsula wetlands

Located 70 km north of Kaitaia, the Aupouri Peninsula wetlands are a collection of lakes, ponds, swamps, dune lands and beaches containing a range of endemic and threatened species of plants and animals. At the northern end of the Peninsula is the Parengarenga Harbour, a large estuary containing sand flats, mangrove forest and reed-beds with a large sand spit of silica sand covered in sparse indigenous vegetation. The harbour is a major staging area for migratory shorebirds.

Muriwhenua wetlands

Closer to Kaitaia, the Muriwhenua wetlands include two large estuaries (Houhora Harbour and Rangaunu Harbour) along with major complexes of low fertility freshwater wetlands (Kaimaumau Swamp and Lake Ohia) and the more fertile wetlands of Karikari Peninsula. The wetlands are significant because of the major concentrations of migratory waterfowl that occur there, including both international and internal migrants. Over 20,000 waterfowl may be present at times. The wetlands also support a high number of endangered endemic plants.

The Whangarei Harbour

Whangarei Harbour is a flooded river valley estuary receiving water from the Hātea and Mangapai Rivers with numerous additional streams draining the catchment. The harbour contains extensive areas of mangroves and saltmarsh, with mud flats containing lush beds of eelgrass.