Human Use
Abel Tasman in 1642 was the first European to see the spit, calling it Sand Duining Hoeck. Captain James Cook was the next European visitor in 1770, showing Farewell Spit as a broad peninsula on his maps. He named close by Cape Farewell, and the name stuck, with early European settlers originally calling the sandbanks 'Cape Farewell Spit' before it was shortened to its present name. It was the last land he sighted after leaving New Zealand for Australia at the end of his first voyage.
The lighthouse at the end of the spit was first lit in 1870. The last lighthouse keeper left in 1984 when it became automatic.
The Spit is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a sea bird and wild life reserve. Apart from a small area at the base of the Spit it is closed to the public except through organized tours.
Tours include the opportunity to jump off a sand dune, a visit to the lighthouse and the gannet colony. The south side of Farewell Spit is home to many thousands of sea birds; it also the site of frequent whale strandings mainly by Long-Finned Pilot Whales. The northern side is bounded by the Tasman Sea.
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