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Whataroa Walkway

  
This walk is along an easy access, wheelchair and pushchair friendly loop track that takes approximately twenty minutes to complete at a meditative pace. It is worth the drive off the main road, as you can see a diverse range of vegetation zones, captivating bird life, and on a clear day wide angle views of the Southern Alps.

Drive nine kilometres down Whataroa Flats Road and veer left onto the unsealed Waitangitaona Road. Drive across the one-lane bridge, and continue until you get to the White Heron Tours jetty. Here, you can park your car and walk across the road to the gate at the start of the track.
The Waitangitaona wetland is a swamp on the floor of the Whataroa Valley, filled with nutrient laden water washed from the Southern Alps and surrounding plains. 'Waitangitaona' literally means the ‘Beach of the Waitangi River’; however, this English interpretation of Maori words has no direct Maori translation.

Kahikatea or white pines tower over the area, and at the start of the track you walk through a shadowy corridor that is the remnants of an ancient forest. The track opens out into a coprosma shrubland, and leads to acres of flax grassland. The phormium tenax is a flax that is unique to New Zealand and one the oldest species of plants in the world.
 
The swamp is a feeding ground for the birds, look out for the shy fern bird, Australasian harrier and paradise shelducks, which nest in the area. The busy white heron and spoonbill parents can sometimes be seen searching for food before they fly back to their exclusive nesting site on the Waitangiroto River.
 
As you stand on the main viewing platform look towards the Southern Alps, dominated by the Mt Adams and Butler Ranges. You can see that nature has been a tour de force over thousands of years. Glaciated ice, powerful rivers, and the tectonic action of the Alpine fault, has sculpted the valley. Take time to set up the perfect photograph and look out for the birds, before the ten minute stroll back to your car park.
 
More information on the Waitangitaona Wetland Walk