On South Kaipara Head overlooking the Kaipara Harbour, Marie Neverman Wetland protects approximately 135 hectares of freshwater wetland, saltmarsh, coastal habitat and regenerating native vegetation.

Permanently protected by a QEII covenant, the reserve provides an important refuge for native plants and wildlife in a landscape otherwise dominated by farmland.

The wetland and its wildlife

At the heart of the reserve is a freshwater lake fringed by extensive raupō wetland and regenerating native vegetation, including kānuka, mānuka, kāwhakawhaka, kōwhai and tōtara.

Raupō-fringed freshwater wetland at Marie Neverman Wetland. Photo: Sharen Graham.

Toward the harbour, the landscape grades into saltmarsh, shallow open water and remnants of coastal forest, creating a rich network of habitats for wetland and coastal wildlife.

The reserve supports an impressive diversity of birdlife. Matuku-hūrepo/Australasian bittern, pūweto/spotless crake, mātātā/fernbird and weweia/New Zealand dabchick have all been recorded here, alongside tokitokipio/little grebe, tētē-moroiti/grey teal, pāpango/New Zealand scaup, kuruwhengi/Australasian shoveler and pūtangitangi/paradise shelduck. Kāruhiruhi/pied shag and kawaupaka/little shag also breed around the wetland.

For more than 20 years, the wetland has also been included in the annual Ornithological Society of New Zealand South Kaipara Head Lakes and Dabchick census. Each ANZAC Day, 20 lakes across the South Kaipara Peninsula are visited and their open-water bird populations counted and tracked over time.

A legacy of permanent protection

The conservation value of this landscape has been recognised for decades. As early as 1976, the area now protected by the reserve was proposed for preservation as a coastal reserve by the former Department of Lands and Survey.

NFRT secured the land in two stages, in 2008 and 2010. The reserve was named in honour of Marie Neverman, whose generous bequest helped make the first purchase possible alongside a major donation from another Trust supporter.

The additional land was purchased with $60,000 raised through an appeal to NFRT supporters, supplemented by two further major donor gifts.

In 2011, the reserve was legally protected in perpetuity through a QEII covenant.

Restoration and management

Protecting the land was only the beginning. NFRT continues to restore and care for Marie Neverman Wetland through native planting, weed management, predator control and ongoing management of its wetland, coastal and regenerating forest habitats.

Invasive weeds remain a significant challenge, particularly pampas, thistles, woolly nightshade and climbing asparagus.

Pampas remains one of the major invasive weeds requiring ongoing control at the reserve.

NFRT also works in partnership with Forest Bridge Trust, which manages an intensive predator trapping programme at the reserve as part of its wider South Head network. Reducing predator pressure is especially important for the wetland’s nesting birds, while control of deer and other browsing animals remains another ongoing management task.

As predator pressure is reduced, there is also the possibility that the wetland could one day support the reintroduction of other threatened species such as pāteke/brown teal.

Marie Neverman Wetland demonstrates what long-term protection and sustained management can make possible: native vegetation regenerating, wildlife finding refuge, and an increasingly resilient wetland landscape forming part of the wider Kaipara Harbour ecosystem.

Visiting the reserve

Marie Neverman Wetland is located at South Kaipara Head, approximately 12 km beyond Parakai.

Turn right onto Tuparekura Road. Access to the reserve is via a concrete driveway off Kaipara Lake Road.

Visitors are welcome, but entry is at your own risk.

Please note:

• No dogs
• No hunting
• No fires

Visitors should respect private property and remain within the reserve.

Honorary Ranger

Tim Charman