Bream Bay Strategic Plan 2006:

It is a place unique for its variety of coastal and shoreline bird-life, the Ruakaka and Waipu estuaries and nearby open shores providing an internationally important habitat for several species which are critically endangered. Fairy terns, NZ dotterel and variable oystercatchers all nest and feed on this coast. More common godwit, knot, turnstones, caspian tern, white fronted tern and Australasian gannet use the coast and the estuaries.

Archaeological sites around the estuaries of the Ruakaka and Waipu Rivers include pa, pits and terraces, and extensive midden. Intensive surveys of the coast have yet to be carried out. Sites of historical significance include the Nova Scotian landing at Waipu and the graves of these early immigrants, as well as evidence of gum digging, mining and early sawmilling.