Awarua Plain

The Awarua Plain is a large wetland east of Bluff with an area of ​​about 600 km² and one of the Southland Plains . It extends over 35 km on the coast of the Foveaux Strait in the extreme south of the South Island of New Zealand .

This stretch of coast includes the Tiwai Point Peninsula , Awarua Bay, Waituna Lagoon and Toetoes Bay . The plain arose mainly from alluvial land of the Mataura River . Together with the Oreti River , it is a remnant of the Ice Age rivers that formed the plains of the South Island. Several other small rivers flow into the Foveaux Strait on this stretch of coast, especially into the Awarua Bay and Waituna Lagoon .

Radio transmitter

The Awarua Plain is well suited for radio transmitters because of its low horizon and high ground conductivity, including:

• the Unwin radar of La Trobe University
• the Awarua Tracking Station of the European Space Agency
• Awarua radio , a historic telegraph station of the New Zealand Post Office for the ship's radio.

Coordinates: 46 ° 31 ′ 41 ″  S , 168 ° 28 ′ 53 ″  E