Pohangina River at Totara Reserve

A refreshing dip in the Pohangina river at the Totara reserve is a favourite summer activity for locals and tourists alike. Stretching along the floor of the Pohangina Valley, this area offers roomy expanses of riverside beach and is surrounded by a stringently-maintained ancient forest, housing many species of native wildlife, birds, and plants. The reserve is easily accessed by the Churchill road, running off the Pohangina East Road, which is about a thirty-minute drive north from Ashhurst. Facilities on hand are plentiful: toilets and showers with wheelchair access, barbeque pits and picnic tables, a playground for the children, and numerous hiking trails. There are also powered campsites available for those wishing to enjoy a longer stay. Admission to the reserve is free.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Special health or safety status in effect
Special Status
This means the affiliate organization managing a beach has set the beach status based on special local knowledge or information. Check the beach description and the Sources section for details.

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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