Features
A place to treasure
Mimiwhangata Coastal Park is an awe-inspiring and special place. It has a wonderfully varied land and seascape - low, steep ridges pointing in almost every direction, each cut sharply into headlands of cliffs, or fading into chains of islands, stacks and reefs.
Mimiwhangata Beach
The intervening coastal stretches are filled by broad beaches and sand dunes with a few areas of boulders, shingle and swamp. Beaches and dune areas are favoured nesting sites for threatened shorebirds. Around the hard, greywacke rock cliffs are large pohutukawa and kowhai trees, both of which attract tui in the flowering season.
Significant pockets of coastal forest remain on the hills above the beaches, dominated by kanuka, kohekohe, totara and taraire. Patches of karaka trees are generally associated with sites of Maori habitation.
In the valleys, large puriri trees are favoured by kukupa (native wood pigeons). One of the most colourful birds to be seen, the eastern rosella, is a recent introduction and native of Australia. Native parrots, or kaka, are occasionally seen in the forest. These birds are visitors from offshore island populations. At night the calls of brown kiwi and moreporks are often heard.
The recreated ponds and surrounding wetlands near the farm tracks are home to the rare brown teal/pateke, spotless crake and bittern.
The marine areas around Mimiwhangata are just as varied in topography and biology as the land area. They include exposed and sheltered waters, rocky and sandy coasts.
These environments support a typical Northland open coast biota. Sub-tropical reef fish, such as spotted black groper, are also known in the area.
Oral history and archaeological evidence shows Mimiwhangata was once inhabited by a substantial Maori community. Major pa sites are spread over the peninsula and in the right light it is possible to see the patterns of long gone vegetable gardens on the hills.
Threatened shore birds
The NZ dotterel is a wading bird unique to New Zealand. Sadly, its numbers have declined because of habitat destruction, predation and harassment by people and dogs during its summer breeding season.
When disturbed, a sitting dotterel will often run away from its nest and distract the threat by pretending to have a broken wing. If you see this behaviour, leave the immediate area as quickly as possible.
The variable oystercatcher / torea varies in colour from pure black to pied, and has pink legs and an orange bill. It nests in sand dunes and on the beach at the height of the holiday season.
These shore birds' nests are just simple scrapings in the ground, and the eggs blend in perfectly with the surrounding sand or broken shell. To keep the disturbance to a minimum, temporary fences are erected every year around nesting sites to prevent people from unknowingly encroaching on the birds' territories. A sitting bird forced to leave a nest exposes its eggs or chicks to many dangers - chilling off or cooling in the sun and attacks from dogs, gulls and other predators.
Please keep away from fenced off areas and watch where you walk. Sand dunes are fragile, as are many of the creatures that inhabit them.
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