January 27, 2023

Waikawa Newsletter January 2023

Kia ora Waikawa!

We're coming into the height of summer and I haven't had to mow the grass for at least a week. Whew!

Since the last newsletter the recycling station has been and gone, the toilet block was vandalised and repaired, the Ratepayers Association ran its usual summer activities and apparently elected a huge Committee. Many folks enjoyed the Christmas lights.

Oystercatchers and Pied Stilts have hatched chicks, even more spinifex has been planted, new water safety signs have appeared by the footbridge and the South Track to the beach off Reay Mackay Grove. Many thanks to the dozen spinifex planters. It was a quick job this time round.

One huge change that affects us all is that the new Peka Peka to North of Ōtaki Expressway has opened at last. It's a smooth ride now to points south, and it's so easy to get around in Ōtaki! Reports are that a trip from Strathnaver to around the Wellington Railway Station takes about 1 hour 10 minutes on a normal day. And of course there's the reassurance that if an accident or act of nature block the road then there's an alternate route.

Now thoughts turn to the Ōtaki to North of Levin Expressway. On Saturday 28 January 2023, Waka Kotahi are hosting presentations from technical specialists at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō about the new road.

We all notice when the ground moves sharply in an earthquake, but actually all of us in this area are gradually moving eastwards — about 4 cm so far this year. That's because of a slow-slip earthquake on the Hikurangi subduction plate boundary.

Interesting factoid: did you know Waikawa Beach used to be located at the South Pole? It was 260 million years ago, but still…

Somehow the street sign for Strathnaver Drive at the corner with Sarah Street was broken off — a visitor over the summer drew my attention to the lack of a sign. The Council quickly replaced it once I let them know.

Early in the New Year a person on the Waikawa Beach Facebook group reported spotting a small pod of dolphins heading north just off the beach.

On the day of the Sand Sculpture competition long-time local John Hewitson found a young bedraggled shag right by the track between the footbridge and the area where the sand sculptures were to be created. Another local, Julia, stepped in with a towel to wrap the bird in and took it back to the shag colony upstream. Speculation was the bird had fallen into the river at high tide and been washed downstream. Well done, the rescuers!

There's been a lot in the news recently about the problems caused by vehicles on beaches in Aotearoa New Zealand. What started out as a list of 5 articles quickly ballooned to a list of 10.

Locals have chimed in, either on Facebook or by private email to tell of children in a buggy harrassing a Pied Stilt and her chicks. The boys apologised, but the Stilt and her chicks disappeared after that.

Another local told of three 4 wheel drives, at least 2 with trailers, that drove very close to the Oystercatchers and their chicks. Luckily the birds seemed unharmed, but that kind of thing can scare them off and interfere with feeding leading to death.

So what do other Councils around Aotearoa New Zealand do about vehicles on beaches? And is the beach really a road? I did a big research project, checking every Council website to discover their policies and bylaws.

NZ Law states: “road includes— (c) a beach.” It's up to Councils though to set their own policies.

Some like Wellington outright ban vehicles, while many severely restrict which vehicles can use a beach (sometimes they also need a permit), where and when and how fast they can go, what the purpose is for them being on the beach — launching boats is the most common.

Many Councils discuss the severe problems caused by vehicles on beaches — even well-behaved drivers risk damaging the environment and destroying bird nests with the noise and vibrations of the vehicles.

A common conclusion is that there's a need to balance out people wanting to launch boats or take fishing gear to the water, against the disruption and danger to other beach users and the environment. Read my full article at the link below.

Some handy words to know: waka could be a boat or a car, moana is the sea, takutai is the shore, kai moana is seafood, manu is a bird.

Coming up in the night sky is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) — such a catchy name. This one is mainly for those in the northern hemisphere but if you have binoculars, a view to the north and some luck, you might be able to see it close to Mars at around 10 pm on 10 February 2023. It's reputed to be green in colour and may never return.

Links

• Toilet block closed for repair, 24 January 2023
• Watch out for baby Oystercatchers
• Spinifex to rebuild the beach
• New water safety signs installed
• Learn about the Ō2NL Expressway
• We’re all moving east round here
• Strathnaver Drive street sign replaced
• A Pod of Orca off Waikawa Beach
• Articles about vehicles causing problems on beaches
• Balanced beaches: birds, babies, bikes, boats

The website may be moving

I'm thinking of moving and amalgamating the Wow Waikawa! websites (Environment and News). That may disrupt a few things, but it should make admin a whole lot easier and bring in some new features. Meanwhile, if something seems broken please contact me.

Hightide — Wow Waikawa! and Waikawa News posts by email

This newsletter is monthly. If you'd like to receive posts by email as they are published subscribe to the Hightide mailing list. Note: I send those emails manually, it's not automated, so it's possible I may forget sometimes. Posts will be taken from both Wow Waikawa! environment site and Waikawa News.

If you know of Waikawa Beach things that would interest others or if you have comments on this newsletter or the websites please let me know at news@wow-waikawa.nz. If you want to suggest others subscribe to the newsletter please send them to: http://news.wow-waikawa.nz/about-waikawa-news.html.

Thanks everyone for the support. I've had a lot of great feedback recently on my newsletters. I really appreciate that.

Me te aroha,

Miraz Jordan

Wow Waikawa!:

• News: http://news.wow-waikawa.nz

• Environment: http://wow-waikawa.nz