[5] It adjoins the coastlines of Te Wahipounamu and Tauparikākā Mātaitai Reserve, and includes the Ship Creek tidal river mouth, lagoon and beach foreshore.

The reserve area lies within the narrow inner shelf zone, inshore of deeply incised submarine canyons.

[6] On shore from the reserve, there is an ancient kahikatea swamp forest and a dune lake, resembling how the West Coast landscape may have looked before human settlement.

[1] Tauparikākā and Ship Creek is the starting point for walks around the nearby dune lake and swamp forest.

People must not feed fish as it disturbs their natural behaviour, and they must take care when anchoring to avoid damaging the sea floor.