The tiny South Westland settlement of Ōkārito sits on a lagoon which is one of New Zealand's most significant ecological treasures.
The remote community of Ōkārito on the South Island's West Coast, 30km north of Franz Josef, is home to just 30 people.
But this beautiful settlement situated in one of New Zealand's most significant ecosystems has a thriving campground, a restored community centre and attracts visitors from around the world.
For many years, it was also home to Booker Prize-winning author Keri Hulme.
It’s unspoilt and a "wonderful place to live," says Barry Hughes owner of Ōkārito Kayaks.
"People live here by choice and the visitors who come here will often comment on the simplicity and the quintessentially Kiwi feel to the place."
He's the third local to own the business that was established 35 years ago.
"It's a very, very simple place, Ōkārito. The kayaking business, there's a boat tour business here, there's a Kiwi tour business.
"All of them are really simple, small businesses that are focused on nature in what's essentially a very simple town that hasn't changed much over generations.
"There's a few more houses here, but there's still no shop and no restaurant."
Ōkārito lagoon is New Zealand's largest, unmodified coastal wetland.
Annual gorse busting events where volunteers come from all over the country to help eradicate the shrub has seen the environment further flourish, Hughes says.
"It’s effectively predator-free, the bird life here has always been outstanding, but in recent years, with the huge conservation work that's been done, it's become, I'd suggest, one of the most significant sites in the world for biodiversity."
The community-run campground attracts locals and international visitors, says local Robyn Jepson.
“It's about a minute's walk from the beach and the lagoon. It's got superb views of the mountains and the forest.
“It's quite a simple campground, and that's by design. It's surrounded by native tree and shrub planting, so there's lots of bird life.”
The campground has covered communal cooking areas and hot showers, she says, and has areas for campervans, caravans and grassy sites for tents.
The settlement’s demographic has also changed in recent years, says Hughes.
“We've gone from no children in the town a decade ago to kids being nearly a quarter of the town's population. We had our first school bus since the 1980s, started last year, picking up four of the local kids to go to school.”
The restored community hub, Donovan's Store, is the oldest known wooden building on the West Coast.
“It was restored by the community here and the Department of Conservation together. Again, it's the operations base during gorse busters, but we hold our town meetings in there.
“There's music every few weeks of the summer held in there, capacity 40 people, but wonderfully characterful, a real community asset. It ties us to our heritage going back generations here.”
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