Inventory of coastal areas of local or regional significance in the ...

Tongaporutu Coast
Number: 7 GPS: 2647365E
6263875N
General description
A wide sandy beach on either side of the Tongaporutu Estuary, from the Rapanui Stream to
the Whitecliffs. Approximately 15 metre high steep cliffs back the beach. The beach is only
accessible at low tide. There are extensive caves and offshore stacks along the coastline. 4
Location
15 km south of Mokau.
Land tenure
Site: - Crown Land: Foreshore (administered by the Department of
Conservation)
Site access: - Crown Land: on the right bank; Umukaha Point Recreation Reserve
(administered by the Department of Conservation)
- District Land: on the left bank; Tongaporutu Recreation Reserve, esplanade
reserve, and Clifton Road (administered by the New
Plymouth District Council).
on the right bank; Pilot Road and unformed Seaview Terrace
(administered and vested in the New Plymouth District
Council)
Values
- Private Land: on left bank; no formal access
Amenity High - outstanding natural features and landscapes, within an area
1, 4
of outstanding coastal value
- significant coastal area 3
Recreational Moderate - commonly used for recreation (boating, fishing, walking)
Cultural/
Historical
Ecological/
Scientific
High - Maori rock art visible in a cave (one of 18 rock art locations
in New Zealand) 4
- pa and midden sites 3
- shipwreck off Umukaha Point 4
High - caves, cut back into the cliffs to the south of the river mouth,
feature strong horizontal strata and frequent waterfalls 2
- nationally important for geology; with fossils of the Miocene
Epoch (halostratotypes of the Tongaporutuan stage) present 4
- offshore stacks and cliff edges have breeding colonies of
grey-faced petrels, fluttering shearwater and white fronted
terns, northern blue penguin have been recorded as nesting
in the area 2
- excellent saltmarsh communities and small sand dunes 5
Public access
Poor - This stretch of the coast is inescapable at high tide due to the high cliffs.
Access to the beach is by wading through the estuary from the recreation
reserve off State Highway 3 and Clifton Road at low tide, or by walking along
the coast from Rapanui at low tide. Access can also be obtained to the
coastline north of the Tongaporutu Estuary from Umukaha Point Recreation
Reserve off Pilot Road (no signpost exists to indicate this is a recreation
reserve, however there is a stile over the fence and rough track).
28