New scenic reserve established in Wairarapa

Conservation Minister Chris Carter has announced a newly purchased block of land will become a scenic reserve.

The 121-hectare property near Cape Palliser on the Southern Wairarapa Coast was purchased by the Nature Heritage Fund for $600,000.

Mr Carter said the purchase of the Stonewall Block, which will be managed by the Department of Conservation, will protect a pristine area of the region's coastal environment.

"There is a diverse range of regionally threatened plant species and communities that make this an extremely important biological area that is almost unique to the lower North Island," he said.

Mr Carter said the Stonewall block, in combination with the adjoining Haurangi Park, will provide complete sequences of vegetation from shore to hill top, that are not protected elsewhere.

- NZPA