Waituna

A waituna is a freshwater coastal lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed where a braided river meets a coastline affected by longshore drift. This type of waterbody is neither a true lake, lagoon nor estuary.

This classification differentiates it from hapua, a type of river mouth lagoon. Both waituna and hapua are rare globally but common in New Zealand, where they are considered ecologically significant as sites of traditional Māori food-gathering as well as for their diversity of fish and bird species.

Waitnua form an interlinked chain of habitats which run the length of the east coast of the South Island: from Wairua Lagoon and Lake Grassmere / Kapara Te Hau in Marlborough, through Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora and Coopers Lagoon / Muriwai in central Canterbury, and Washdyke Lagoon and Wainono Lagoon in South Canterbury, to Waituna Lagoon in Southland. Waituna Lagoon is one of the finest examples.

The name translates as “water of eels”.

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