Volume Three Appendix 1 20. The Wairau Lagoons rushes, sedges, estuarine herbs and grasses. The lagoon and boulder bank afford expansive sea views out to Cloudy Bay and the backdrop of White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti. The Wairau Lagoons are significant culturally to tangata whenua and are exceptional generally for the archaeological remains that have been identified there. A number of Māori/early Polynesian archaeological sites, including middens, campsites, and moa remains, are located on the boulder bank and around the Wairau Lagoons; the oldest archaeological site in New Zealand. There is evidence to suggest that the boulder bank was one of the first landing points on New Zealand by early Polynesians some 700 years ago. The Crown, through iwi settlements, has declared the Wairau Lagoons and Wairau Bar as areas of cultural importance. Modifications include: Wairau Lagoons Walkway track; small footbridges over watercourses; the southern extent of the Wairau Bar Road; a house close to the tip of the Wairau Bar; and the shipwreck of the SS Waverley. This ONF excludes the oxidation ponds, the small collection of buildings at the terminus of the Wairau Bar Road and modified farmland south of the road, as well as modified land south of the lagoons, close to the southern hills. 21. Te Parinui o Whiti/White Bluffs Biophysical - High legibility of the predominantly grass-covered hills and exposed coastal bluffs. Values Geopreservation site: White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti. - - Dry coastal forest and treeland vegetation within gully systems. - Significance as the largest sea-cliffs in Marlborough. Perceptual - Visually dramatic and striking geological form, resultant of various tectonic, erosional Values and climatic forces at work. Associative - A Ngāi Tahu conservation covenant is overlaid on White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti. Values Overview Based on the above values, White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti have been identified as an ONF due to its exceptional biophysical and associative landscape values and very high sensory landscape values. The visually dramatic White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti are a striking feature, a landform that is regionally significant for its geomorphological values, and has the largest tract of native forest vegetation in the area. White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti mark an important territorial boundary, with Ngāi Tahu claiming rights on the east coast of the South Island up to White Bluffs/Te Parinui o Whiti. A Ngāi Tahu conservation covenant is overlaid on the bluffs. There are limited or no modifications. Modified pasture land on top of the bluffs is excluded from the ONF. App 1 - 21