Monday, 3 March 2014

New Zealand Ahoy! – Farewell Spit 7073!

Its 19:00 New Zealand Time , Monday 3 March 2014, and Our Ship the Glory has just passed Farewell Spit at a speed of 17.1 knots direction 150º on its way to Nelson on the Northern point of the New Zealand’s South Island.

Land Ahoy! New Zealand Ahoy! 

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Farewell Spit is a narrow sand spit situated at -40.517, 172.867, at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. Known to the Māori as Tuhuroa, it runs eastwards from Cape Farewell, the island's northernmost point. It is located about 50 kilometres north of Takaka and 20 kilometres from Collingwood. It forms the northern side of Golden Bay and is the longest sandspit in New Zealand, stretching for about 26 km above sea level and another 6 km underwater. The spit runs in from west to east, and is made from fine golden sand – as Cape Farewell to the west of the spit is mostly composed of late Cretaceous quartz sandstones, i.e. silica but with traces of other heavy minerals, garnet, Ilmenite, magnetite and pyroxene. The erosion of the cliffs into fine sand carried on the sea currents creates Farewell spit further east.

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