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Nugget Point sign, Nugget Point, 24 December 2007
The area takes its name from the wave-eroded rock stacks or islets, which bear some resemblance to gold nuggets. The islets were formed from sedimentary rock laid down over under the sea. Over geological time they have been uplifted and tilted so that the sedimentary layers are now in vertical stripes.
The Maori name, Tokatā, applies to the headland and islets as a whole. In former times Tokatā was an important seafood gathering site (shellfish, fin fish, sea birds, seals and kelp), and a landmark for coastal travellers.
The headland attracts a diversity of marine life because it is so close to productive feeding grounds. Nugget Point is the only place on the mainland where New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), New Zealand (Hooker's) sea lions (whakahao) and southern elephant seals (ikupuku) coexist. There are colonies of yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) and blue penguins (korora), and breeding populations of several other seabird species, notably spotted shags (parekareka), sooty shearwaters (titi or muttonbirds), Australasian gannets (takapu) and royal spoonbills (kotuku-ngutupapa).
The windshorn vegetation of Nugget Point reflects the exposed and sometimes stormy nature of the area. Plants have to be hardy and salt tolerant to survive here. Among the most interesting plants are the Catlins coastal daisy (Celmisia lindsayii), which is unique to the region, and Cook's scurvy grass (Lepidium oleraceum), which survives on the islets and is now rare on the mainland.
Underwater habitats around Nugget Point are of special importantce. The sheltered sector north of the headland features patch reefs and bladder kelp forests up to 15 m tall. To the south are the hardier bull kelp species, whose fronds swirl in the waves. The steep walls of the islets provide a habitat for communities of sponges, coral, sea squirts, sea urchins and jewel anemones.
Original size: 2592x1944
Timestamp: 2007:12:24 11:10:51
Exposure time: 1/640 s