Ōkārito Lagoon
Don’t miss a visit to beautiful, coastal Ōkārito Lagoon, just a 13-km (8-mile) detour off the highway, 15 km (9.3 miles) north of Franz Josef township. An immense, forest-fringed, coastal lagoon, nestled in scenic splendor beneath the Southern Alps, Ōkārito is arguably one of the largest, most pristine wetlands remaining in New Zealand. It is home to thousands of sea and wading birds and is backed by the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary, 27,000 acres of lowland forest and home of the rowi, a rare species of kiwi.