Hermit crab in large shell. World Ocean Day (today) seems like a good time to catch up with recent happenings along the coast. A few days ago there was a big wash of seaweed along the high tide line. Big clumps every metre or so all along the shore, some kelp, some more 'leafy'. Clumps of seaweed. Close up on some seaweed. A big clump of kelp. A few days later a big carpet of driftwood 'mulch' appeared just south of the river mouth.
The new fence at the beach end of Manga Pirau Street. Horowhenua District Council have sent out a letter about the beach access: 23 May 2024 Tēnā koe Earlier this year, Council actively sought your input on three options for vehicle access at Waikawa Beach. However, during the submission hearings, new information emerged that add to the complexity of the issue. Initially, Options 1 and 2 relied on the goodwill of private land owners by accessing the beach through their land at the end of Manga Pirau Street.
The river flows past the groyne on the left and in a fairly straight line directly out to sea. The Waikawa River must have flushed with heavy rain earlier this week. There are clumps of river weed scattered across the estuary and a little way down the coast. There’s evidence of the river having cut deep channels across the estuary sand too. But most notably, the river is flowing straight past the groyne and directly out to sea.
Horowhenua District Council has a regular meeting scheduled for 08 May 2024. The usual Council Actions Monitoring Report appears on the Agenda. The Waikawa Beach vehicle access option is now marked as completed: Council Actions Monitoring Report 2024 As at 01 May 2024 Ref: 21/502 Resolution / Action: That the Chief Executive provide a full report on all options in respect of vehicular beach access at Waikawa Beach. Officer: B Harvey Due Date: 30/11/2023 Status: Completed Officer Update: Officers presented a report to council on the 20 March 2024 that outlined the current situation in respect to providing vehicle access to Waikawa Beach.
From time to time Velella velella wash ashore and decay. We had another event a few days ago so the beach is a bit smelly in parts. Velella velella, also known as By the Wind Sailors, are a relative of bluebottles, and a jelly fish. They use a small sail to drift on the ocean surface.
These little creatures are rather interesting. Scripps Institution of Oceanography tells us: A clear, chitinous semicircular to triangular sail sticks up above the water with a blue float beneath made of concentric circles of gas-filled chambers.
The Horowhenua District Council consultation period on beach access for vehicles ended on 20 February 2024, with 446 submissions. Submissions show that there is both strong support and strong opposition for vehicle access at Waikawa Beach. Councillors met on 20 March 2024 to decide how to proceed. In brief: the decision has been delayed. The Consultation Report offered 3 choices for Councillors to consider: no vehicle access at all, or two ways to pause proceedings.
Map overlays give an indication of erosion at Waikawa Beach over 10 years from 2010 to 2021. It’s almost exactly 6 years since ex-Tropical Cyclone Gita swept away many metres of sand from the front of the estuary. In early 2018 the whole stretch from the groyne to outside the north end of Reay Mackay Grove lost many metres of sand in just a few days of high winds, high tides and high river flow.
Figure 1. (a, b) Site location on the SW Coast of the North Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Yellow box marks approximate area of study site (see Figure 2 for details), filled circles indicate sites where evidence has been reported for a palaeotsunami dated to between 1470 CE and 1510 CE (Goff and Chagué-Goff, 2015). Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09596836231219484 A 3 minute interview on RadioNZ on 30 January 2024 caught my attention — Research shows huge tsunami hit Kāpiti | RNZ.
Selfish and sometimes illegal actions by a few have endangered vehicle access to the beach for all. One consequence has been that the owners of the private land which allows vehicles sometime access to the beach has asked Horowhenua District Council to place concrete bollards at the end of Manga Pirau Street. Those bollards were placed early on 04 January 2024. In the past the landowners have advised that if people do unauthorised works on their land they may block all access.
The photo shows that vehicles have been through the pedestrian-only track, flattening rushes and churning up the sand. Posted on 02 January 2024 by Horowhenua District Council on the 🌞🌞 Waikawa Beach Community page 🌞🌞 | Facebook: We are pretty disappointed to be posting this, but it has come to our attention that an unauthorised track has been created via a private property on Reay Mackay Grove into Council reserve onto the beach.
Both the 111-operator and police officers confirmed it was important to call in when these events occur. The beach access for vehicles across private land at the end of Manga Pirau Street is currently closed because erosion carved away the 'ramp' back in October 2023. See also Miratana Track update, 06 October 2023 — no thoroughfare. Back in November 2021 a group petitioned Horowhenua District Council to put an access through Reay Mackay Grove.
HDC has opened consultation on access for vehicles to Waikawa Beach, with a mass of information available at: Waikawa Beach Vehicle Access | Let's Kōrero Horowhenua: Horowhenua District Council is seeking your feedback on three proposed options for vehicle access at Waikawa Beach. Please provide your feedback by 4pm on Tuesday, 20 February 2024. I’ll update this post with further information from that post later today. There’s a great deal of info available, I suggest you take the time to read through all of it.
A 3.5 metre high tide at the Manga Pirau Street entrance on 14 December 2023. Photo taken while standing at the edge of the 2 metre drop at the end of the track. On the Waikawa Beach Facebook page Pat OSullivan writes: On behalf of the WBRA an interim update on the beach vehicle access issue. An onsite meeting was held yesterday [13 December 2023] with HDC and Horizons in relation to the beach access and the current state of the river in terms of e-coli counts etc.
On the Agenda for the HDC meeting for 13 December 2023 we see the Council Actions Monitoring Report 2023, which includes item 21/502: Reference: 21/502 Resolution/Action: That the Chief Executive provide a full report on all options in respect of vehicular beach access at Waikawa Beach. Officer: A Nelson Due date: 03/11/2023 Comment: Council at its meeting of 11 October 2023 agreed that officers further investigate three options arising from the report.
The eroded end of the vehicle access. I asked about what is happening with the currently disrupted vehicle access to the beach and about the upcoming community consultation about vehicle access. Stephan Titze, HDC Parks and Property Project Lead | Kaihautū Kaupapa Papa Rēhia, Rawa replied: To answer your question on a quick note. a.) re-establishment of existing vehicular access at end of Manga Pirau: The reestablishment of the current access way depends on several aspects Evaluation of river conditions: To my knowledge is the river currently still undercutting the vehicle access.
Public consultation on the 3 beach access options for vehicles may begin soon. See also Vehicle access, next steps and a small correction and HDC will consult public on options for Miratana Track vehicle access and no access. The Agenda of Horowhenua District Council for the Wednesday, 22 November 2023 meeting has the usual update for the Council Actions Monitoring Report 2023, as at 10 November 2023. One item is for the vehicle access to the beach that has been under investigation for a couple of years: Reference: 21/502 Resolution/Action: That the Chief Executive provide a full report on all options in respect of vehicular beach access at Waikawa Beach.
5 speckled Oystercatcher or Pied Stilt eggs near a piece of driftwood in November 2022. Note: the plantings near the groyne in particular will help prevent erosion in that area, directly protecting the village and the track used for vehicle access. Please join in on the additional spinifex planting on Sunday 12 November 2023, starting at 9.00. Meet on the beach by the north track off Reay Mackay Grove. Craig Kidd from Horowhenua District Council will bring an unknown number of spinifex for us to plant.
Tire marks from a quad on the north track off Reay Mackay Grove where motor vehicles are forbidden by law. Wednesday 18 October 2023. A report in the NZ Herald on 18 October 2023 about vehicle access at Waikawa Beach: Horowhenua District Council considers Waikawa Beach vehicle access options: For more than 50 years, through the goodwill of a private landowner, the sole public entrance to the beach is at the end of Manga Pirau St.
The digger arrived at dawn on 12 June 2019 to reshape the rock groyne. Correction At their recent meeting the Horowhenua District Council voted on options for public consultation about vehicle access to Waikawa Beach. See HDC will consult public on options for Miratana Track vehicle access and no access. There was a small but inconsequential error in that post, to do with Significance and Standing Orders and whether a motion is carried or lost.
In November 2021 a petition sparked Horowhenua District Council to set up an investigation into vehicle access to Waikawa Beach. See Petition for vehicle access to Waikawa Beach. Petitioners had specifically asked that the pedestrian walkway at 10 Reay Mackay Grove be turned into a vehicle access. At the HDC general meeting on Wednesday 11 October 2023 Councillors voted on options arising from that investigation. See Presentation on Waikawa Beach Vehicle Access, 06 September 2023 and HDC Beach Access vote on 11 October 2023.
Rows of newly-planted spinifex. I received the following info: The conditions are a bit more than mildly moist, so we are going to initially delay the planting until tomorrow 8/10/2023. To be reviewed same time tomorrow morning. See: Help us protect the beach 07 October 2023 — spinifex planting.
Last week’s big tides and big swells, along with gales, brought the usual erosion to the Miratana Track used by vehicles to access the beach. See also: Big tide and big swell on 29 September 2023. The track has been chained off with a locked padlock so vehicles can't get through. The raging tides scoured out sand from beneath and behind the sandbags and driftwood barrier at the bottom of the track, exposing buried driftwood and large rocks.
Rows of newly-planted spinifex. Please help for an hour on Saturday 07 October 2023. Community volunteers are planting spinifex. Meet at 9 am near the north track off Reay Mackay Grove. Bring gloves. Craig Kidd from Horowhenua District Council will bring 3,500 spinifex plants for us to plant. Volunteers will be digging holes. All we have to do is take the plants from the root trainers and tuck them in.
Big tides and heavy swell the last few days have taken their toll on the beach track used by vehicles. It's now cut off and a chain has gone up across the entrance. See Big tide and big swell on 29 September 2023. Because the river has moved towards the entrance there's no access for vehicles. A few more big tides are expected too. The tides have undercut the driftwood that had been piled by the exit onto the sand and it's now partly unsupported.
Tonight’s a full moon and a very high tide with big swell. The river has already moved closer to the Miratana Track entrance and overnight may well undermine the stack of driftwood on the north side. Whitebaiters though are undaunted. Waikawa Beach Wind and swell forecast: Friday 29 September 2023: High tide: 1002 ~ 3.70 metres ; 2218 ~ 3.80 metres Wind: Moderate S becoming fresh W Swell: W 2.