The Whale Trail is blessed with an incredible range of terrain in its 200+km journey between Kaikoura and Picton. From the protected waters of Tōtranui/Queen Charlotte Sound, across the treasure that is the Wairau Plains and onwards through the limestone band that is home to the Marlborough Rock Daisy (Pachystegis insignis) there are distinct changes in ecosystems that contribute to a unique assembly of flora and fauna.
South Marlborough is a dramatic landscape, with a dry Mediterranean climate it’s the hottest, driest part of Aotearoa. Lying as it does at the southern range of many plants it’s flora and fauna are in part the result of successive advances and retreats of glaciers, the arid coastal climate and the distinctive limestone band running through the landscape. Its home to nationally important populations of endemic animals, such as Marlborough spotted skink, katipo spider and kiwaia, the mat daisy jumper moth, which is a critically endangered flightless moth unique to this coast.
Making trail in areas close to such special places requires a light touch and an expert design to ensure we don’t adversely affect them. To help guide us, last week Hamish and Nigel from our our trail team spent time half a day with DOC’s Pat Crowe and Ngati Kuri’s Clint McConchie getting their expert guidance and knowledge.
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