Farewell Spit is a narrow sand spit at the northern end of the Golden Bay, in the South Island of New Zealand. The spit includes around 25 kilometres (16 mi) of stable land and another 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of mobile sand spit running eastwards from Cape Farewell, the northern-most point of the South Island. Farewell Spit is the longest sand spit in New Zealand, and is a legally protected Nature Reserve. The area is designated as a Ramsar wetland site and an East Asian–Australasian Flyway Shorebird Network site. Farewell Spit is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a seabird and wildlife reserve. Apart from a small area at the base of the spit, it is closed to the public except through organised tours.
The Foveaux Strait, separates Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. The strait is about 130 km long, and it widens and deepens from east to west. The strait lies within the continental shelf area of New Zealand, and was probably dry land during the Pleistocene epoch.
Cape Foulwind is a headland on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, overlooking the Tasman Sea. It is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) west of the town of Westport. There is a lighthouse located on a prominent site on the headland. A walkway beginning at the lighthouse carpark traverses the rocky headland to Tauranga Bay and passes close by a colony of New Zealand fur seals. There is limestone quarry in the area, and a cement works operated nearby from 1958 to 2016.
The Brothers is a group of small islands in Cook Strait, New Zealand, off the east coast of Cape Koamaru, Arapaoa Island. The islands are a restricted-access wildlife sanctuary administered by the Department of Conservation.
The Otago shag, together with the Foveaux shag formerly known as the Stewart Island shag and in its dark phase as the bronze shag, is a species of shag now found only in coastal Otago, New Zealand.
Puysegur Point is a headland located in the far southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It lies within Fiordland National Park on the southern head of Preservation Inlet and is 145 kilometres (90 mi) west-northwest of Invercargill.
The Lizard Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Lizard Point, Cornwall, England, built to guide vessels passing through the English Channel. It was often the welcoming beacon to persons returning to England, where on a clear night, the reflected light could be seen 100 mi (160 km) away.
Waipapa Point is a rocky promontory on the south coast of Foveaux Strait, the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of the mouth of the Mataura River, at the extreme southwestern end of the area known as the Catlins.
The Kātiki Point Lighthouse, also known as Moeraki Lighthouse, shone for the first time in 1878, following several accidents on the dangerous reefs around the area, to make the area safer for ships that sailed past on their way to Port Chalmers, Dunedin. The lighthouse was built between the settlements of Moeraki and Kātiki, on the tip of the Moeraki Peninsula, which is known as Kātiki Point or Moeraki Point.
Foveaux Strait is the centre of attention for sealing ships. Sealing gangs are dropped along the coast from southern Fiordland to Otago Harbour and on Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Bay of Islands is sometimes on the journey to or from Port Jackson. The Chatham Islands are also visited. A few whalers also operate around New Zealand; some also collect timber from Bay of Islands.
As sealing at Bass Strait and the Antipodes Islands declines, Foveaux Strait becomes the focus for sealers from the middle of the year. The Bounty and Auckland Islands are also visited. Whaling is carried out on the east coast of New Zealand with the Bay of Islands being the usual port of call for provisioning. As many as nine ships whaling together for months at a time can occur. The behaviour of the whalers at the Bay of Islands is again commented on unfavourably, this time by a former missionary on one of the whaling ships. There are also a number of vessels collecting sandalwood from Tonga or Fiji; the majority call at the Bay of Islands en route.
Nugget Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Nugget Point in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand.
Waipapa Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at Waipapa Point, Southland, New Zealand. It was first lit on 1 January 1884.
TSS Arahura was a twin screw steam passenger/cargo ship built for the Union Steam Ship Company. It was launched on the Clyde on 25 March 1905 and built by William Denny and Brothers Dumbarton at a cost of £52,000. It had a gross weight of 1,607 tons. The ship had accommodation for 201 passengers.
Iserbrook was a general cargo and passenger brig built in 1853 at Hamburg (Germany) for Joh. Ces. Godeffroy & Sohn. It spent over twenty years as an immigrant and general cargo vessel, transporting passengers from Hamburg to South Africa, Australia and Chile, as well as servicing its owner's business in the Pacific. Later on, the vessel came into Australian possession and continued sailing for the Pacific trade. In 1878 it caught fire and was sunk the same year. At last, it was re-floated and used as a transport barge and hulk in Sydney until it sank again and finally was blown up.
Dog Island is located in Foveaux Strait some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Bluff, New Zealand. It holds New Zealand's tallest lighthouse and since the maritime structure was fully automated in 1989, the island has been uninhabited.
The Dog Island Lighthouse on Dog Island in Foveaux Strait is New Zealand's tallest lighthouse, and one of its oldest. It is notable for its masonry construction, and is a work example by an engineer who was prominent at the time. The lighthouse employed the first revolving beam in New Zealand, and the unique original light apparatus was in use for 60 years. Dog Island Lighthouse is one of the most distinct lighthouses in New Zealand, with only two others having stripes painted on them for better visibility at daytime. The lighthouse is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I structure, and the adjacent lighthouse keepers cottage has a Category II registration. Originally operated by three lighthouse keepers, the structure has since 1989 been remote controlled from Maritime New Zealand's Wellington office, with Dog Island since having been uninhabited. Dog Island Lighthouse has twice featured on New Zealand stamps.
The Foveaux shag, together with the Otago shag formerly known as the Stewart Island shag and in its dark phase as the bronze shag, is a species of shag endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura and Foveaux Strait, from which it takes its name.
The Farewell Spit Lighthouse is located at the end of New Zealand's longest sand spit in Golden Bay / Mohua, near the northern tip of the South Island. It guides vessels entering Cook Strait from the west and south. The LED rotating beacon flashes white or red, once every 15 seconds. It has a range of 19 nautical miles. Red is shown to warn approaching vessels of extensive shoaling. Standing 27 metres (89 ft) tall, the tower needs to be taller than the support structures of most lighthouses built on cliffs or headlands, because the sand foundations it is built upon are almost at sea level. The tower is constructed of an open steel lattice to withstand abrasive sand and salt-laden winds.
The Matiu / Somes Island lighthouse is a harbour navigation light located on Matiu / Somes Island in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand. It is a sector light, marking a safe approach through the harbour channel. The first lighthouse on the site was established in 1866. It was the first inner harbour lighthouse in New Zealand, and one of only eight lighthouses nationwide at that time. However, by 1895 there were multiple complaints that it was inadequate. A replacement lighthouse with a more powerful light was built on an adjacent site and commissioned on 21 February 1900. The light was automated on 1 April 1924 and converted to electricity after 1945. The lighthouse is currently operated and maintained by the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
