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Story: Canterbury places

Kaitorete Spit

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Kaitorete Spit

A bank of shingle separating Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) from the Pacific Ocean, the Kaitorete Spit is nearly 30 kilometres long. It was once an important route for Māori travelling from Banks Peninsula to southern settlements. The remains of camps, ovens and middens can still be found along the spit.

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by Christina Troup

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How to cite this page

John Wilson, Canterbury places – Ellesmere district, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10268/kaitorete-spit (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 2 March 2009, updated 17 August 2015.