Notices
Beach access for vehicles: closed.
Recycling: collected every 2 weeks;
next: 06 and 20 May 2024.
River Water quality between 01 November 2023 and 30 April 2024.
Latest: 22 April 2024 : 119 n/100 mL (green)
Season totals: 10 green, 8 orange, 7 red.
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Turnaround by old Quarter Acre cafe. Source: the newsletter. From the Ōtaki to north of Levin update, January 2024 email newsletter: The Gleeson Road and Pukehou Rail Overbridge turnarounds are now complete Ōtaki to Ohau construction update The Ōtaki to Ohau safety improvement project is progressing well. Before the holiday break, contractor Downer installed all sections of median barrier and the majority of side barrier. The Pukehou Rail Overbridge and Gleeson Road turnaround facilities were also completed, with all three turnarounds now open. -
424 properties at Waikawa Beach pay rates to HDC
It’s a bit hard to define Waikawa Beach — sometimes it just means the sand and dune area near the water’s edge — the beach. Sometimes it means the community and structures in the Waikawa Beach area. For statistical purposes Stats NZ define the Waikawa Beach area as roughly a rectangle that stretches all the way up to Hokio Beach Road and across to roughly Takapu Road. That’s definitely not what I mean by Waikawa Beach. -
In March 2024 we need to ask for cleaner river water
Many locals are justifiably upset about the poor ratings on the Traffic Light System for the quality of water in our river by the footbridge. Our long-term grade: Poor – The estimated risk of Campylobacter infection has a >5% occurrence, at least 5% of the time. I have a spreadsheet named lawa_recreationalwaterquality_monitoringdata_2017–23_20oct2023 that someone at LAWA or HRC sent me a while ago. It shows that between 06 November 2017 and 24 April 2023 over 147 measurements our score was: 62 green; 47 orange; 38 red. -
Maybe 600 years ago a huge tsunami hit Kāpiti and Taranaki coasts
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. -
Te Rauparaha Pā at Waikawa, 1821-1823
Horowhenua Maori Place Names _ Map IV by Adkin - cropped. Source: [horowhenua.kete.net.nz/item/c20e...](https://horowhenua.kete.net.nz/item/c20e494f-60c0-4548-ae30-4dbaf6764a1e) License: Attribution + NonCommercial + ShareAlike. There is some interesting reading about historical Waikawa Beach in the document Te Kotahitanga o Te Iwi o Ngāti Wehi Wehi — Cultural Impact Assessment Ōtaki to North Levin Highway Project 2022. From Pages 8 & 9: Te Rohe O ngāti Wehi Wehi Ngāti Wehi Wehi Settlement in the Horowhenua: Waikawa/Manakau Te Rauparaha established his first Pā in the Horowhenua, at Waikawa, around 1821-1823. -
High fire danger, January 2024
The fire danger will be very high for the Manawatū-Whanganui region this weekend [26-29 January 2024], Fire and Emergency says. District Manager Nigel Dravitzki said this included central and lower Whanganui, lower Rangitikei, central and lower Manawatū, and all of Horowhenua. He was asking the public not to light any fires in those areas. "We are suspending all current fire permits issued for the coastal zone until Monday 29 January because of the increased fire danger, which is the highest we have seen so far this summer, " -
Transpower line survey by helicopter in early February 2024
Notice of helicopter use for visual aerial survey of transmission lines in your area. Transpower, the owner and operator of the National Grid, is undertaking a visual aerial survey of its transmission lines throughout the Whanganui, Manawat, Tararua, Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast regions as highlighted on the accompanying map. This work will involve a helicopter flying at low levels (around 1000ft/300 metres) above the the transmission lines. The work is planned to occur between Thursday 8 and Friday 9 February 2024. -
Waikawa Newsletter January 2024 published
Dabchick on the lake. Published on 25 January 2024: Waikawa Newsletter January 2024. The monthly newsletter is based on posts I’ve written during the month, with added sprinkles. If you’d like to automatically receive posts by email as they are published subscribe. 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 kiaora@waikawanews. -
Recycling change from 01 February 2024
News today from Horowhenua District Council — Pizza boxes and meat trays set to be accepted in kerbside recycling: … pizza boxes and plastic meat trays which are not currently accepted, can be included in household kerbside recycling from Thursday 1 February 2024. Pizza boxes must be clean and have no grease or food waste on them and meat trays must be rinsed clean, with the plastic wrap removed. … Only these things can be recycled from home: Plastic bottles, trays and containers numbered 1, 2 and 5 only Food and drink tins and cans Paper and cardboard Glass bottles and jars What should I do with my lids? -
Vehicles and pedestrians don't mix, especially on the beach
Waikawa Beach has been largely free of vehicles so far this summer, with legal local access temporarily blocked off. The only vehicles that have turned up have been largely locals, using illegally created access points, and even going to the extent of forging their own track along the pedestrian-only south track off Reay Mackay Grove. The petulant destruction caused by that foolishness has certainly helped sway public opinion against allowing vehicles to access the beach at all. -
No significant increase in traffic from 2022 to 2023
The Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association Annual Report 2023 (PDF) reveals that back in March and April 2023 Horowhenua District Council undertook a traffic count along Waikawa Beach Road: A traffic count was undertaken by HDC between March to April 2023. The average number of vehicles using Waikawa Beach Road daily was 932 with 10.2% of those being heavy vehicles. The average speed noted was 80.1 kph. This does not represent a significant increase in traffic since the last count. -
The old ropewalks at Waikawa Beach
In the book Bitter water : a story of Waikawa by Deb Shepherd and Laraine Shepherd (a must-read, but out of print — ask at your Library) there are several references to ropewalks at Waikawa Beach in the mid 1800s. I never had any clue what that actually meant, but this excellent 4 minute Swedish video shows a ropewalk in action: Making a four strand rope of tarred hemp using a historic ropewalk. -
For sale: 8 Norna Grove
For sale: 8 Norna Grove. Bedrooms: 3; Bathrooms: 2; Floor Area: 130 m²; Land Area: 824 m²; Enquiries over $875,000. Deadline Sale: Thursday 08 February 2024. Listed on 16 January 2024. -
For sale: 577 Waikawa Beach Road
For sale: 577 Waikawa Beach Road. Bedrooms: 3; Bathrooms: 1; Floor Area: 138 m²; Land Area: 4010 m²; Offers Over $850,000. Listed on 15 January 2024. -
Pedestrian Access Only tracks to the beach
Over the holiday period a group of people ignored the HDC's calls to allow the consultation process to continue unimpeded and to stop trying to create new vehicle tracks to the beach. A track was mowed through an empty property next to #60 Reay Mackay Grove and people on quads, in utes and on motorbikes were using that track to then enter the pedestrian-only walkway and then create a new track through the dunes onto the beach. -
How to treat Bluebottle or stingray stings
From time to time we see Bluebottles (Indo-Pacific Man o’ War) on our beach, and recently someone reported they'd seen quite a few stingrays in the shallows. Both can sting. The bluebottle, or Indo-Pacific Man o’ War, is not a jellyfish but a siphonophore, which is a colony of tiny, specialized polyps working together as colonies. The bluebottle is easily recognized by its blue, gas-filled sac (pneumatophore) that floats on the water’s surface. -
Identify those prints on the beach
I just happened upon an excellent guide to footprints you see on the beach: A Sandy Footprint Guide. That will be very helpful! -
Concrete bollards placed at Manga Pirau Street beach entrance
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. -
Popup Eats Manakau on Tuesday 09 January 2024
Unfortunately the Pop Up Eats scheduled in December 2023 had to be cancelled at the last minute. A new date has now been advertised: 09 January 2024, 5-8pm. No details on vendors, but see below for what was planned in December. On Facebook in December: Pop Up Eats Horowhenua: You asked, so we're coming for you tomorrow Manakau! ☺️ See you from 5-8pm at Driscoll Reserve (just across the road from the Manakau Village and the hotel). -
Destruction on the south beach track off Reay Mackay Grove
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. -
Full moon brings out the Hoons and Boofheads
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. -
Waikawa Newsletter December 2023 published
Man and dog line fish off the beach. Published on 21 December 2023: Waikawa Newsletter December 2023. The monthly newsletter is based on posts I’ve written during the month, with added sprinkles. If you’d like to automatically receive posts by email as they are published subscribe. 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 kiaora@waikawanews. -
Consultation on beach access for vehicles closes 20 February 2024
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. -
Boat Day cancelled for 27 December 2023
On a Facebook Post, Pat OSullivan writes that the summer Boat Day activity scheduled for Wednesday 27th December, has been cancelled. See also WBRA Summer Activities. More bad news from the WBRA I regret to say. I’m sure many here will be aware that water samples are taken from the Waikawa Stream by Horizons RC on a weekly basis at this time of year. The last sample was taken on Monday 18 December and the result is that the e-coli levels are high and the stream is unsafe for swimming. -
Dine out at Popup Eats Manakau on Tuesday 19 December 2023
On Facebook: Pop Up Eats Horowhenua: You asked, so we're coming for you tomorrow Manakau! ☺️ See you from 5-8pm at Driscoll Reserve (just across the road from the Manakau Village and the hotel). 🍔 Dutchy's 🌯 Zaaffran - Taste of Morocco 🍦 Freezing Bay Real Fruit Ice Cream ☕ Hodoo 🍝 ThaiKai Kitchen Update: had to be cancelled at the last moment.
