The Awarua Plain is a large area of wetland to the east of Bluff, New Zealand

Bluff, New Zealand

Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country...

. Covering an area of around 600 km², the plain stretches for 35 kilometres along the coast of Foveaux Strait

Foveaux Strait

Foveaux Strait separates Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. Three large bays, Te Waewae Bay, Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay, sweep along the strait's northern coast, which also hosts Bluff township and harbour. Across the strait lie the Solander...

. This stretch of coast includes the peninsula of Tiwai Point

Tiwai Point

thumb|[[Awarua Plain]] , Tiwai Point and [[Bluff, New Zealand|Bluff]] viewed from the [[International Space Station]] in 2008.Tiwai Point lies at the entrance to Bluff Harbour on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand...

, Awarua Bay, the Waituna Lagoon, and Toetoes Bay

Toetoes Bay

Toetoes Bay is the easternmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Oreti Beach. Thirty kilometres in length, the bay is the southern end of the Awarua Plain, an area of swampy land stretching inland for about fifteen...

. The Mataura River

Mataura River

The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 190 kilometres in length.The river's headwaters are located in mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, where it turns southward...

 is the major river responsible for the presence of the Awarua Plain; along with the Oreti River

Oreti River

The Oreti River is one of the main rivers of Southland, New Zealand, and is 170 kilometres in length.The Oreti has its headwaters close to the Mavora Lakes between Lake Te Anau and Lake Wakatipu, and flows south across the Southland Plains to its outflow into Foveaux Strait at the southeastern end...

, it is a remnant of the rivers from the Ice Ages that formed the Southland Plains (Murihiku). In addition, several small streams enter Foveaux Strait along this stretch of coast, mainly via Awarua Bay and Waituna Lagoon.

Radio facilities

The Awarua Plain is suitable for radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 facilities, due to low distant skyline

Skyline

A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...

s, high ground conductivity and distance from sources of radio interference. An expedition seeking 'an extensive area of flat lands [producing] the best results' first scouted the area for radio purposes in 1911.
Radio-related facilities here are:

• Unwin Radar
  Unwin Radar
  The Unwin Radar is a scientific radar array at Awarua, near Invercargill, New Zealand . It is part of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network , an international radar network for studying the upper atmosphere and ionosphere that operates in the High Frequency bands between 8 and 22 MHz...
  
   of La Trobe University
  La Trobe University
  La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
  
  
• Awarua Tracking Station
  Awarua Tracking Station
  thumb|Awarua Tracking Station, with 3.5m diameter tracking antenna deployed.Awarua Tracking Station is an Earth station commissioned by and used by the European Space Agency located on the Awarua Plain in Southland, New Zealand. It was developed by Venture Southland, a joint committee of the...
  
   of the European Space Agency
  European Space Agency
  The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
  
  
• (historically) Awarua Radio
  Awarua Radio
  Awarua Radio , on the Awarua Plain in Southland, New Zealand was New Zealand's main receiving and transmitting coast radio station providing worldwide radiotelegraph and voice communications with ships at sea. Some facilities were built by Telefunken of Germany...
  
  , a coast radio station
  Coast radio station
  A coast radio station is an on-shore maritime radio station which monitors radio distress frequencies and relays ship-to-ship and ship-to-land communications.-See also:* Marconi Station* Utility station...
  
   of the New Zealand Post Office
  New Zealand Post Office
  The New Zealand Post Office was a New Zealand government department.As a Government Department, the New Zealand Post Office or N.Z.P.O., previously the Post and Telegraph Department or P & T, had as the political head the Postmaster General who was a member of Cabinet, and, when it was a separate...