In addition to the peat dome and wetlands of Te Whanga Lagoon, Ocean Mail Scenic Reserve includes Lakes Wharemanu and Kaimoumi and extends over the road to the coastal dunes of Kaingaroa.
an ocean experience
The aster walk was lovely with many rare island plants, stunning scenery with plenty of photographic opportunities of the beach and ocean. The seal colony was the highlight of the day for me. Search for shells on the beach too!
Stunning – an absolute gem
This beach is world class. Miles of golden sand, native trees, crystal clear water, even breakers and, if you wiggle your toes, she’ll fish.
great beach view
Untouched sand no footprints on the sand when we arrived. but we left ours for as long as the sea remains calm
This Scenic reserve was named after an ill-fated sailing vessel the Ocean Mail which ran aground nearby on French Reef in 1877.
There were five passengers (Misses Harrison and Jenkins, Messrs. Cotter, Nathan, and Conway)….
Stores were also taken ashore, and carried up into the bush, where tents were pitched for the crew. The passengers and Captain Watson went to the house of a Maori, some couple of miles from the wreck. The weather, which had been fine, then broke, and there was so much surf that it was impossible to get off to the wreck.
Eventually, however, the master made a survey of the wreck, and she was sold to one of the Chatham Island runholders for £945. Considering that she had a cargo worth £78,000 on board it was not a dear bargain, and it was not surprising that the other residents of the Group should protest that “the greatest indiscretion had been shown in disposing of the wreck.” All the principal residents of Waitangi signed a protest to the insurance companies. There were nearly 5000 bales of wool aboard, and 400 tons of this was saved in a very short while, not to mention many casks of tallow.
TripAdvisor: Ocean Mail Scenic Reserve
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Website: Dept of Conservation / Ocean Mail
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