Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Distance: 10 km
Day 3 of our second Covid19 lock down in Christchurch. With the Delta variant on the loose I headed to the beach in the early morning on my own (I miss you all Friday Walkies girls!!).
The Sandra Street beach access is the steepest of them all. I turned my map app on and struggled up the steep dune in my impractical tramping boots, one step forward two steps back. At the top I was rewarded with the vista of our very own beach. Always fabulous, even on this grey wild and woolly morning. The howling easterly going for it and rain threatening.
The tide was super low and I walked out to the water's edge and headed towards the pier. The sun should have been rising now but you couldn't see it behind the cloud. The gulls were flying, feeding and bickering. I could see patches of flotsam and jetsam up ahead and I quickened my pace and readied my camera.
Treasures awaited me. Each patch comprised a gazzillion tiny sticks and twigs -possibly detritus from a flooded Waimakariri river. Over the years I have explored similar washed up patches and have even swum amongst them (a bit like swimming in soup so actually not that pleasant). They typically accommodate a range of shells and sticks and other interesting tidbits. These ones were no exception: a scimitar shell or peraro (Zenatia acinaces); a skull; a plethora of Dosiania anuses (tuangi-haruru); gorse wood sculptures - exotically shaped by the ocean; a hairy but unidentifiable mass about the size of a coconut. And the pièce de rèsistance: an Elephant fish egg capsule. The Elephant fish or Reperepe (callorhynchus milii) is a type of shark with a rather fetching trunk-like proboscis. Their egg capsules look like injection moulded black plastic. I was tempted to take this one home but I already have a couple.
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| Scimitar shell |
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| Elephant fish egg capsule |
The Mall itself is a hotch-potch of run-down buildings with a few interesting nooks and crannies. A canvas for exploring that very fine line between graffiti and wall art. As I took photos, the notes of a classical piano being played through an amplifier could be heard close by. But I could see no-one. A black-backed gull (kororo) was trying to get inside a rubbish bin. Two companion sea gulls watched intently.
I passed the vape shop (opposite the fairy shop) and the Christchurch Circus Centre (opposite the Police Station) and headed towards Ōtākaro, the Avon River. At the Pages Rd bridge I took up the river path, heading towards South Brighton again. And then as I came around the corner I caught sight of my all time favourite bird: The Royal Spoonbill!! I could hardly believe my luck. Like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, it was sifting and shoveling in the mud at the edge of the river. I snuck up and took some snaps.
I followed the river path all the way to the board walk and Caspian Street where I crossed back over to the beach. The tide was still low and there was hardly a soul in that expanse. It was raining. Fabulous.
I needed to exit at Sandra Street but I was lost. I stumbled hither and thither but my search was fruitless. Just when I had almost given up hope, I nearly walked into one of the Councils daft road signs - "Sandra Street". Some kind citizen, not satisfied that the council had probably spent thousands to plan, design and install these signs, had painted it cerulean blue. I was lost but now I am found. I happily exited and went home to have coffee and toast with Meesh.
