Hānuere (January) 2022 WBRA Newsletter
Kia ora e te whānau,
the busy times have ended and for the moment the beach has returned to its quiet state. The vehicle entrance was reopened just before Christmas and plenty of folks made the most of the chance to drive onto the beach.
It seems a lot of people around NZ heard the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupt. Next day on 16 January 2022, although we didn’t get the tsunami that brought so much destruction to Tonga, we did see a surge coming up the river. The video by Sue Culver shows it really well.
Meanwhile the baby Oystercatchers just south of the river are almost all grown up and a flock of terns has been seen feeding in the estuary.
The handy phrase for this month is: E toro mai ana ngā tūī ki te māra. The tūī are visiting the garden.
AGM Update
Covid restrictions and uncertainty meant that all summer activities, including the AGM had to be put off at short notice.
The Committee stayed on as is in the interim and is meeting on Sunday 23 January 2022 to discuss how to proceed with the AGM. We’ll let everyone know the outcome shortly after the meeting.
Christmas Lights
Once again this year Wendy and Peter Clark of 2 James Street delighted Waikawa with their fabulous display of Christmas Lights. Other houses also had lights, from a simple string to some quite extensive illuminations. Thanks too to the Walkers who again lit up the huge tree at the village entrance.
Wow Waikawa! Photo Fest and photo hunt
32 photos were displayed around Waikawa Beach for a few weeks over Christmas. They popped up on fences, roadside power boxes, on signs, and even the odd letterbox or fence decoration. There were Cryptic Clue Sheets available online and at Awa Pukapuka and the noticeboard.
It seems people really enjoyed casually coming across or hunting out the photos. Some comments:
Good fun. We walked quite a few km’s and found a few places we hadn’t explored before. Gosh, I didn’t even know we had a shower at the toilet block.
The photos were fantastic and was an awesome activity with the kids and dogs
It was great. The kids and I looked for photos and we took visitors to see them.
Poor river quality at the footbridge
Weekly E. Coli sampling at the footbridge is bringing disappointing results so far: 1 green, 4 orange and 7 red.
Local news
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A spot of good news for those who take their dogs via the north track off Reay Mackay Grove for a beach walk: there’s a new dog poop bag dispenser by the rubbish bin.
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Fascinating Waikawa Beach drone photos, January 2022. A heap of excellent photos show various views of the river mouth, estuary and river, and Strathnaver.
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Rare Lamprey in Waikawa stream: one of New Zealand’s rare native fish Lamprey (Geotria australis) has been discovered in the Waikawa Stream.
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A report on 16 January 2022 on the Waikawa Beach Facebook page of someone stung by a stingray.
In the night sky this month
At the end of January Venus is up two hours before the Sun. Above it is Mars, looking like a medium-brightness orange-red star.
Low in the south are Crux, the Southern Cross, and Beta and Alpha Centauri, often called ‘The Pointers’. Alpha Centauri is the closest naked-eye star, 4.3 light years away. Beta Centauri, like most of the stars in Crux, is a blue-giant star hundreds of light years away.
Take a look at The Evening Sky in January 2022.
Property
Recent sales: 18 Henham Lane, 38 Manga Pirau Street.
For sale or unknown if sold: 75 Strathnaver Drive, 10 Arthur Street, properties on Walkers Lane and Emma Drive (judging by the roadside signs).
WBRA Subscriptions due now
It might still be unclear exactly when we can hold our AGM, but only paid-up members can vote. Please pay your $25 WBRA membership fee now.
We aim to email receipts for payments but need your email address. We must know your beach address too.
Ngā mihi nui, Miraz Jordan