Te Kūkūwai o Toa Wetland at Elsdon Park.
We love our local wetlands, and 2 February is the world day for celebrating them.
Wetlands are treasure chests of biodiversity that play a really important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems in our streams and harbour. They remove silt and nutrients from land runoff, store excess stormwater during times of heavy rainfall, and are carbon sinks among many other things!
Porirua, like much of New Zealand, was once covered in wetlands. Since human settlement began the country has lost more than 90 per cent of its wetlands. Thanks to the vision and hard work of many local people and organisations, Porirua still has some impressive wetlands that are open to the public. They are all well worth a visit, why not check one out this weekend?
The newest wetland in Porirua was constructed in 2022 in partnership with Wellington Water, Porirua City Council and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, with funding from the Ministry for the Environment’s Freshwater Improvement Fund.
It covers one hectare and supports resilient treatment of stormwater runoff from the 40 hectares of commercial and residential areas upstream. The wetland features more than 20,000 native aquatic plants, covering at least 80 per cent of the wetland surface, to support a biodiverse community.
Water from the Urukahika Stream (previously in the pipe below Awarua St) flows into the wetland and spreads across the full area, before gradually flowing out to Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour.
Creating Te Kūkūwai o Toa was the final stage of a major project to upgrade the Porirua stormwater network to help avoid flooding at Porirua School, Ngāti Toa Street and in the CBD. The wetland can be enjoyed from a specially built walkway and viewing platform. Can you spot more than 20 pūkeko in a single visit?
The 100-hectare Pāuatahanui wetland is the largest remaining relatively unmodified estuarine wetland in the lower North Island.
The area boasts amazing wetland habitats and diverse wildlife – the result of thousands of volunteer hours, planting plants and trapping predators.
Large parts of the wetland are administered by the Department of Conservation, including much of the Pāuatahanui Wildlife Reserve, which provides viewing hides, tracks, a visitor centre and a picnic area.
Restoration work in the area over the past 40 years by groups such as Forest & Bird and Guardians of Pāuatahanui Inlet have seen endangered birds released into the reserve. On a visit there you may spot varieties of waterfowl, shrubland, and forest birds.
As well as the wildlife reserve, Pāuatahanui Inlet can be enjoyed on a walk or bike ride along Te Ara Piko walkway.
Taupō Swamp was the first major wetland to be protected in the Wellington Region and is a biodiversity gem because of the rich diversity of plants, fish, birds, reptiles and insects that can be found there.
It was purchased in 1988 by the QEII National Trust and was given full protection as recognition of its ecological importance. Queen Elizabeth II visited the wetland herself in 1986.
This extensive wetland can be easily seen when travelling on State Highway 59 between Plimmerton and Pukerua Bay. There is also the Ara Harakeke path that can be walked or cycled that runs alongside Taupō Swamp.
The wetland plays a crucial role in regulating water flows, reducing the risks of local flooding, capturing nutrients and sediments from the surrounding land and improves water quality.
Local group, Friends of Taupō Swamp and Catchment, formed in 2018 to protect and enhance the wetland and its catchment.
In mid-2024 the elusive mātātā or fern bird was spotted and photographed at Taupō Swamp, showing the success of restoration efforts in the wetland.
27 Jan 2025
