Time: 2 hours
Distance: 5.6 km
Birdlings Flat is a tiny coastal settlement, perched on the Kaitōrete Spit between Lake Ellesmere (Te Waihora), Lake Forsyth (Wairewa) and the Pacific Ocean (Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa) about an hours drive from Christchurch (Ōtautahi) along the Christchurch/Akaroa highway.
The sun-baked signage in the car park is lacking historic details but I did some research when I got home. According to the Ngāi Tahu Cultural Mapping Project Ka Haru Manu, the Kaitōrete Spit was once a main coastal travel route for Ngāi Tahu. There was a pā at Birdlings Flat called Te Mata Hāpuka which was essentially a fishing village. Across the river was a fortified pā, Ōruaka, used in times of conflict. The first European Settlers in the area were the Birdling family (early 1900s).
We squished/crunched across the stoney beach to the waters edge, heading east towards the big cliffs (basalt lava flows 8 - 10 million years old) and fossicking amongst the grey pebbles and stones for agates and semi-precious gems that are known to travel down the Canterbury braided rivers and wash up here. Nicole picked up something promising with an orangey-red colour - sardonyx or garnet perhaps?
Besides gemstones, Birdlings Flat is also known for its crashing surf - waves that are spectacularly dumpy. Today was the calmest I have ever seen it though. We looked for seals, dolphins and orcas (apparently semi-regular visitors) but could only see a flock of birds bobbing on the water out to sea. Canadian Geese? I had my togs with me but.. yeah nah. Swimming is not recommended here.
Under the cliffs, is a channel of water -sometimes excavated to empty Lake Forsyth to the sea. Gravel has been piled up here. We climbed up and walked back along a makeshift track to the bridge across to Bossu Road. We took a slightly off-piste route around the waters edge across the caked mud and climbed a small hill. Possibly the old Ōruaka pā site. If you stretched your imagination a little you could make out the a hollow of a kumara pit and the remains of a wall.
On the way back we skirted the coastline to give space to the terns, pied stilts, swans, shags, banded dotterels and a heron who watched us uneasily from the water's edge. A Canadian Goose launched itself in our direction. Was it an attack or just an ungainly and noisy landing? We followed suite by letting out panicked squawks and breaking into a sprint perhaps unnecessarily. Once out of harms way, we couldn't resist climbing the rocky outcrop near the bridge. The views down the coast were fabulous.
We decided to check out the Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum. This involved a short walk down Coates Road and onto Hillview Road. We got to check out the cute baches with their stoney letterboxes and quirky gardens full of weedy beachy colourful flowers. With the sun beating down, the salt in the air, it felt like being on a summer beach holiday. Whangamata in the 1970's.
Vincent Burke owns the museum and has been collecting agates and semi-precious gemstones for years. Many of them are from Birdlings Flat and the wider Canterbury region. They make an impressive albeit quirky collection - polished and sorted. Plus fossils. You can buy the whole lot for a mere $665,000 (slightly cheaper that the $700,000 price in 2016). Yeah nah.
It was lunchtime and we headed to the Little River Cafe and Art Gallery. We sat outside under a kowhai tree with a bell bird flitting about above us, drinking nectar from the kowhai flowers. Too fast for a photo.
