Farewell Spit

It’s a very interesting place, the desert 🌵 part is a very different then the surroundings areas. you wouldn’t believe that you’re in New zealand. it’s a very long walk so you’ll definitely need some food and water with you. you cannot go to the whole spit part because it’s protected, but you can take tours if you want to see the whole spit. it can be very hot around December and January (got sunburned) will definitely go there again by taking tours

The tour of farewell spit was absolutely amazing! Highly recommend going to the reserve, you can walk a bit on your own but it can be very windy and have sand storms so it’s better to go on the tour and be driven along the beach. The gannet colony, seals, and lighthouse were well worth the visit.

Awesome piece of NZ well worth a visit by anyone who loves history, wildlife and unique landscapes. Unfortunately you can only walk about 5kms into the spit as it is protected reserve. You have to pay and be a part of an authorised tour to see the whole spit. On this occasion I did the public walk. Beware of quick sand between the coasts! I sank to my knees stepping in a puddle of sand. Will definitely do the paid tour next time. Lots of wildlife. Take some water.

It’s a nice place to visit.however remember that it’s just a walk at the shore. Which u can do at many places. Most of it is protected and to visit the end I have got to take a tour 165$/person. We drove from Takaka (1hr) in the evening to visit. Did about a km of walk n returned as quite windy. ( visited in start of feb). Can b quite cold so take jackets. As it ws low tide didn’t encounter any problems but have heard quick sand many b an issue. If u r planning to do the whole walk . It’s about 5k’s and takes about 3 hrs in an avg

We went to Farewell Spit on a sunny and quiet day. After a short walk along the sea we arrived to an incredible little desert. We were all alone lost in nature between the dunes, a lot of oyster catchers and the Pacific ocean and Tasman sea. Be there for the sunset and you'll discover a place you'll never forget ! ;)

Great walk. Pretty cool to see all the wildlife and native plants. You can only walk for 4km’s as the rest of the Spit is by tour only.

Love this place, nice long walks and beautiful views

Great place to go if you want to get lost, DOC has done a great job!!! Walked along Golden Bay side for a long time hoping to see a track signage and access to go over to the Farewell Spit side. Finally came to a sign which said we could go no further. At this point decided to make a break over the dunes to the other side. Still no track or signage. When we did get to the other side, got lost as there was still no signage for tracks. Had to use GPS on our phone to get back to our car. Overall the trip went from 3 hours to 5 x hours. DOC is at fault here. They obviously dont want people to use any part of the Farewell Spit.

The northernmost part of the South Island, this is such a must visit place! It was a long, but scenic daytrip out to the Spit from Nelson, but well worth the visit. The spit itself juts out into the ocean and separates Golden Bay & the Tasman Sea. You can only walk bout 4.1km of the Spit before a permit is required. They do tours the full length of the spit, but the price and scheduling were out of my range when I visited. I walked the allowable length of the spit, so just over 8km round trip and took a detour up into the dunes where you feel like you've just entered an NZ version of the Sahara...when I first hiked up it was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. You can walk a bit to the middle and hike up a dune to get the height you need to see the breadth of the spit and the two bodies of water it separates at the same time. The tide was going out, so the number of viewable water fowl was impressive. There is a definite stench when the tide goes out. Thankfully the bandana I had brought for sun protection also worked well to go over my mouth when the smell was a bit overwhelming. The bay-side is beautiful especially w/the mountains in distance. It seemed to be a photographer and birdwatcher's paradise as almost everyone I passed had their long lenses out or binoculars to their faces. It was very peaceful and tranquil and some sections I had all to myself, including the time I spent up in the dunes. In total, I spent about 3.5hrs on the spit and enjoyed every minute!