Wairau lagoons salt marsh Marlborough New Zealand
The Wairau lagoons have formed over the last 6,500 years behind an 8 kilometre-long boulder bank created from gravel and stones washed up the coast by sea currents. Water from the surrounding hills gathers behind the boulder bank and combines with the tide flushing in and out each day. Specialised plants and animals have colonised habitats between the high and low water marks, some of which are more 'productive' than the best pasture.
This productivity drew Maori to the lagoons to find food and it is thought that some of the channels have been made or extended to help trap moulting birds or eels. Evidence from the boulder bank confirms some very early camps were made there and where the now-extinct moa were hunted and eaten.
Wairau lagoons salt marsh Marlborough New Zealand
The Wairau lagoons have formed over the last 6,500 years behind an 8 kilometre-long boulder bank created from gravel and stones washed up the coast by sea currents. Water from the surrounding hills gathers behind the boulder bank and combines with the tide flushing in and out each day. Specialised plants and animals have colonised habitats between the high and low water marks, some of which are more 'productive' than the best pasture.
This productivity drew Maori to the lagoons to find food and it is thought that some of the channels have been made or extended to help trap moulting birds or eels. Evidence from the boulder bank confirms some very early camps were made there and where the now-extinct moa were hunted and eaten.