With its golden sands and turquoise waters, Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve is paradise for so many people. But what is the Reserve?
You will all know of the beauty that is the ever-so special golden sands and turquoise waters of Kaiteriteri beach, located at the gateway to the Abel Tasman. However, many people don’t realize that we are a 100% self-funding Crown owned entity with an operating model where all profits are invested back into the Reserve for social, economic, environmental, and cultural prosperity.
This model covers our many offerings across 250 hectares of land including the campground, cabins, our premium apartments, On-the-Spot Store, Waterfront Restaurant, Gold level Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park, Kākā Point, Kākā island, the estuary, surrounding forestry, and of course our gorgeous golden beach!
Every dollar spent across any of these offerings goes right back into making the Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve everything that you know and love along with preserving this amazing place and improving the environment and wider community.
We are governed by a Reserve Board, consisting of representation from iwi, Department of Conservation, concessionaries and long time, local, passionate and experienced leaders that all share a love for this special place. All our Board members are appointed directly by the Minister of Conservation.
The History of the Reserve and how it came to be...
The Reserve is of particular cultural significance as one of the first meeting places between tāngata whenua and representatives of the New Zealand Company. These meetings consisted of discussion on the protection of settlements, cultivations, and wāhi tapu, along with one tenth of all land to be set aside for the benefit of original Māori and their whanau - which you may know as the 'Tenths Reserves'.
In 1936, the Future of Kaiteriteri as a holiday destination was confirmed in a public meeting where Syd Rowling was nominated as the first chairman of the Kaiteriteri Domain Board and was joined by half a dozen other prominent locals. The size of the Reserve continued to grow through purchase and generous donation of land to become what it is today covering more than 250 hectares.
