Mei (May) 2020 newsletter
Welcome Back Weekenders
The first weekend in Level 2 brought quite the crowd of folks to Waikawa Beach, both visitors and weekenders who'd been away from their baches for quite a few weeks now. Several boats launched off the beach, in one case leaving the trailer it was on, and the tractor attached to that trailer, firmly stuck in the sand. The tractor and trailer were later extracted, with great difficulty.
The Hank Edwards Reserve toilets are open again, and some renewed road markings at the intersection with SH1, down Waikawa Beach Road, and through the village have brought a touch of freshness.
The Council's gardeners did a bit of work at the village entrance and some lupin trimming beside the tracks to the beach.
Meanwhile a couple of days of rain early in the month brought a very welcome almost 70 mm of water for the tanks and garden, but otherwise the phrase to use is 'bone dry'. We've had some ground fogs in the morning, and even a good frost. We also saw some pretty high tides and a couple of gusty westerlies.
And, by the way, duck hunting starts on Saturday 23 May 2020.
- Mural Artist wanted (local)
- Te Takeretanga o Kura-Hau-Pō services
- Highway news
- Councils, handbook and plans
- Environment
- Get blog posts automatically
Mural Artist wanted (local)
Horowhenua District Council are drawing up plans to renovate the toilet block at Hank Edwards Reserve. One idea they have is to include a mural, preferably by a local. They'd also prefer to use a local builder for the work. Read more at: Toilet block — local mural artist and builder wanted.
Te Takeretanga o Kura-Hau-Pō services
With the shutdown Te Takeretanga o Kura-Hau-Pō put a special membership in place for ebooks and to provide Internet for those who needed it. They also received funding for a digital hub to allow people to connect for business development and support, and offer services such as free wi-fi, co-working spaces and guidance on use of the internet for business and skills development purposes. Read more at: Libraries Horowhenua ebooks and Internet and Te Takeretanga o Kura-Hau-Pō digital hub.
Highway news
NZTA will be testing the ground for the proposed expressway to north of Levin. They're also planning more safety work along SH1 and SH57. Read more at: Ōtaki to north of Levin update April 2020.
Councils, handbook and plans
In spite of the shutdown Councils had to continue their processes with Annual Planning. Both Horizons Regional Council and Horowhenua District Council took submissions and are working on responses.
Horowhenua District Council are also working their way around communities to put individual plans in for each locale. A Beach community plan for Waitārere was recently adopted, including a vision, values and priorities. It's worth looking at to help inform ourselves when our turn inevitably arrives.
Meanwhile Horowhenua District Council have put out a Handbook to help us be more involved.
Also see: Horizons Annual Plan 2020-21 consultation and HDC Annual Plan 2020/2021 Have Your Say.
Environment
The environment really came to the fore during shutdown. We had very high tides, as seen in A bay full of water.
An endangered Mollymawk was rescued from Waikawa Beach.
Community member Charlie Strivens made a video.
Someone got well and truly stuck in the sand: Beware wormholes.
And Lesley-Ann Walker took a stunning photo at sunset.
Also check the independently run Waikawa Beach Facebook page for heaps of amazing photos from the last couple of months.
There has also been some agitation about the activities of the clam fishing dredge, both here and from folks in Kāpiti. See the articles in the local papers Ōtaki Today and the Kāpiti Mail: Unsustainable clam fishing makes waves, A time for rabbits, geese, goats and a timely clam closedown, and Consternation at clam dredging activities.
Get blog posts automatically
Did you know you can get all the blog posts from the WBRA website more easily than visiting every day to see if something's been posted? You can get posts emailed to you or you can use the RSS feed.
Subscribe by email: look at the top right of any page on the website and enter your email address in the form. Almost 100 people already use this option.
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Now life returns to something closer to how things used to be. Some who came to stay at their beach properties for the shutdown have returned to the usual homes. After a burst of Level 3 activity though, things seem to have quietened down again.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata. He tāngata. He tāngata. — What is the most important thing in the world? It is people. It is people. It is people.
Ngā mihi nui,
Miraz Jordan