Appendix 2 Volume Three South Marlborough Coastal Terrestrial Area 11: Wairau Sub Area Rating Key Values Additional Comments Wairau Lagoons High The river mouth lagoon–estuary, The estuary has been and boulder bank bird’s foot delta, and fringing wetlands modified through historical and islands are some of the country’s stop-banking and alterations best examples and provide extensive to river flows. wildlife habitat. The Blenheim sewage outfall The whole wetland ecosystem is of discharges into the mouth of national importance for wading birds the Wairau River on the (including migratory species), outgoing tide. waterfowl and other wetland birds and is equally outstanding for freshwater and estuarine fauna. Boulder Bank/Wairau Bar is a nationally important landform. Open and expansive nature of the lagoons retains high levels of perceived naturalness. Rarangi-Wairau High Nationally important landform: a Areas of housing and land Bar beach ridge sequence of beach ridges and swales use modifications have system created by tectonic uplift events. eroded the legibility of some Remnant native vegetation: forest, of these ridge systems. treeland, dry shrubland and wetland. Coastal Terrestrial Area 12: Vernon Sub Area Rating Key Values Additional Comments White Bluffs High The dissected hill country terminates Area delimited by cliff faces in the regionally significant White Bluff only. sea cliff overlooking Cloudy Bay. With the constant erosion on these cliffs, vegetation is scarce, but it proliferates within the slot gorges where reclusive forests of ngaio, mahoe, mapou, akiraho, akeake, kohuhu, five-finger and lancewood are found. The White Bluffs form a visually strategic and striking point along the Marlborough coast, acting as the headland that divides Cloudy Bay to the north from Clifford Bay to the south. Based on this they are extremely memorable. App 2 - 16