Farewell Spit, at the tip of the South Island, is New Zealand’s longest sand spit (25 km) and a nature reserve. It is an internationally-renowned bird sanctuary with over 90 bird species recorded in the area.

Every spring, thousands of wading birds arrive from the northern hemisphere. Other birds range from black swans to sparrows. Penguins also breed in the area.

The area's attractions include a historic lighthouse, pā sites, a cliff top viewing platform, seals and the striking landforms of Wharakiki Beach.

The caves, islands, and arches of Wharariki Beach, where seals breed, are among the most dramatic in the country. Behind the beach are constantly shifting dunes and a series of lakes and swamps. The vegetation is diverse, with some very rare plants.

The part of the spit that forms the Ramsar wetland site, covering 11,388 ha, is managed by DOC as a Nature Reserve and Shorebird Network Site. The spit is Ramsar site number 103, listed on 13 August 1976. This wetland area is both estuarine and freshwater.

A shared vision for Onetahua

Several organisations including DOC, Manawhenua ki Mohua, Pest Free Onetahua and HealthPost Nature Trust are working collaboratively to enhance the unique ecosystem and look after the important native species found at Onetahua/Farewell Spit, while ensuring visitor experiences are still offered to the same high standard.

HealthPost Nature Trust took over the management of the Triangle Flat area of the recreation reserve on a five-year concession in 2025 and are carrying out a range of planting and other restoration work. The Trust, DOC and Manawhenua ki Mohua are currently developing a strategic plan for the site – we will share more details on this once it is ready.

HealthPost Nature Trust and Pest Free Onetahua are currently building a 4 km low predator fence across the top of the Old Man Range to protect 2000 ha of habitat. As of early 2026, the fence is fully funded and the build is well underway. It will be complete by mid-2026, all going to plan. Once the fence is completed and predators have been removed from behind it, the area will become a safe space for native species and may mean other species to be introduced in the future. The fence does not affect public access to the recreation reserve.

More than 15,000 volunteer hours have gone into HealthPost Nature Trust mahi. Previously, HealthPost Nature Trust built a 3-hectare predator proof fence at Cape Farewell. It was completed in 2020, and 198 pakahā/fluttering shearwater chicks were translocated there between 2022 and 2024, with all successfully fledging. As of 2025, they have begun to return to the site and are successfully breeding.

Pest Free Onetahua is a partnership between Tasman Environmental Trust and Manawhenua ki Mohua. They’re carrying out landscape scale predator control across the spit, targeting possums, pigs, hares, stoats, rats and feral cats. Pigs were successfully eradicated from the spit in 2024.

From January 2025, Pest Free Onetahua have been installing a ‘rolling front’ of pest control starting at the tip of the spit and working down to Triangle Flat. The high-density network includes bait stations in a 100 m x 100 m grid over the entire spit, and AT220 traps 200 m x 200 m down the entire length of Farewell Spit, covering around 1,200 hectares of vegetated habitat. There’s also a network of traps placed strategically across the spit in areas to limit stoat activity.

The next stage for Pest Free Onetahua is intensive pest-control in Triangle Flat and the wider area on the Farewell Spit side of the predator-proof fence. This isn’t eradication, it’s large-scale suppression and elimination in stages. Every pest removed makes the spit safer for nesting birds, rare plants, and other vulnerable native species.

Farewell Spit Tours has also contributed to pest control by designing and deploying innovative lightweight collapsable aluminium trap boxes. Their work has removed more than 2,000 stoats, rats, possums and weasels.

The western part of Pūponga Farm Park remains a working farm and is grazed by the adjacent landowners.

There is much evidence of Māori occupation in this area. Some is associated with the hunting of moa (now extinct) and harvesting of other foods. Pūponga Point, once the site of a pā/fort, is one of many archeological sites.

In 1642, Abel Tasman was the first European to visit the area. In 1770, Captain Cook named it Farewell Spit as he left New Zealand. In 1870, the first lighthouse was built to prevent shipwrecks, which occurred frequently. Grazing of Farewell Spit stopped in the late 1930s, but Pūponga Farm Park is today a working farm operating under a DOC lease.