Mangahao River at Marima Domain

Located along a sharp bend in the Mangahao river, this popular swim spot boasts impressive expanses of the riverside beach when flows are low. It can be found as part of the Marima Domain, twelve kilometres south of Pahiatua, and the beach is only a short stroll from the Nikau road. Picnic and barbeque facilities are on-site, as are public toilets.

This swimming and recreational spot is about 12kms south of Pahiatua. If you’re coming from Pahiatua, once you’re one Tutaekara Road there is a covert gravel turn off just before the bridge into the bush domain which takes you right through the bush and out the other side into a large grassy area and a large gravel beach. This swim spot has no amenities so bring everything you need, and leave everything as it was.

Get directions to this beach

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on April 23th, 2023. The Swim Guide - New Zealand updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on April 23th, 2023 at 7:30 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Marlborough Regional Council monitors water quality at popular swimming spots throughout the Malborough region.

Water quality data on Swim Guide is sourced from the LAWA Can I Swim Here? website. www.lawa.org.nz/swim

At this site, water is regularly tested for levels of E. coli during the summer months. This faecal indicator bacteria is used to indicate the level of harmful pathogens in the water.

See information on recreational water quality monitoring in New Zealand in the LAWA factsheet: https://www.lawa.org.nz/learn/factsheets/coastal-and-freshwater-recreation-monitoring/

Beach sites are shown as a GREEN swim icon if the latest E. coli test result was in the range of 0 - 550 E. coli / 100 mL.

Beach sites are shown as a RED swim icon if the latest test result exceeded 550 E. coli / 100 mL or if this site frequently exceeds the standard or there is a temporary water quality issue outside the routine testing programme (e.g. sewage overflow).

See information on the standards for recreational water quality monitoring in New Zealand in the 'What do the swim icons mean?' LAWA factsheet.

LAWA recommends for all sites, to avoid swimming for 2 - 3 days after significant rain, even for sites that normally have good water quality.

A good rule of thumb is to check that you can see your toes in knee deep water.

See www.lawa.org.nz/swim for up to date information on current warnings and alerts, weather conditions, real-time water temperature and flow rates, and what facilities are available, the monitoring history at this site and helpful factsheets.

Water Quality Graph