Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes
Distance: 11.5 km
Start: 100 Heyders Road, Spencer Park, Spencerville
Finish: Same place (it's there and back)
Date: 21 July 2023
Stormy weather. It was 7:30 am and the rain was pelting down - so I was a bit doubtful that today's walk would actually eventuate. I checked the MetService app: "occasional showers". I focussed (or focused) in on the word "occasional". It sounded hopeful I thought, and sure enough, ten minutes later the sky had cleared. The walk was on.
I picked up Carolien and we met Nicole at the Heyders Road car park, opposite the derelict looking Spencer Beach, Top Ten Holiday Park. The roosters were crowing in the distance - non-stop - as though someone was trying to strangle them. We set off on the Waimakariri Walkway.
The walkway runs along the eastern shore of Brooklands lagoon/Te Riu o Te Aika Kawa, on a 450m wide sandspit which separates the lagoon from the Pacific Ocean/Te Moana nui a Kiwa. At the top of the spit is the confluence of the Styx, Kaiapoi and Waimakariri Rivers. The lagoon was - once upon a time - more of an estuary, but was modified in the 1930s as a result of flooding mitigation and stopbank realignment.
According to Kā Huru Manu (the Ngāi Tahu cultural mapping project) the area was a kāinga mahinga kai (food gathering place) of various Ngāi Tahu hapū including Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Kati Urihia. Tuaki (cockles), rōrōa (shellfish), pātiki (flounder) and whētiko (mudflat top shell) were gathered here. Te Aika whānau (the Aika family) are the descendants of Kati Urihia and the name "Te Riu o Te Aika Kawa" translates to "The area of Te Aika protocols".
We could hear the roar of the ocean as we walked. For the most part, the track undulates through pines and established dunes but a couple of times we hit the coastal side and got a brief glimpse of the waves. On the lagoon side we could see the birds and bird-hides in the distance. We speculated that a faraway flock of flying large white birds might be royal spoonbills - my all time favourite feathered friend.
We rounded a corner and came to impasse number one: On the beach side, a sheer drop in the dunes where the track had washed away. We were redirected on a bypass track, no problem. But then, soon after, impasse number two: Also a sheer drop as before but this time no signage and no detour. I suggested we try an off-piste route through some scrub. The others looked slightly dubious at first but we back-tracked a smidge and could see a vague path. Other people must have had the same problem and provided us with a solution. The vague path nicely wound though the pines and iceplant, avoiding the dense patches, and popped us back on the track just past the drop-off. Perfect.
After 1.5 hours we were at the Waimakariri River mouth with The Waimakariri Sailing Club (Inc.) and a row of hopeful salmon-fishers on the other side. On our side of the river, not too far from us was a hangout of shags. Yes, it's true, a group of shags is actually termed a "hangout". Pines and branches were strewn across the beach, interspersed with too much plastic rubbish. Bottle tops of all shapes and colours seemed to be the main perpetrator. Why??? I pocketed a pair of broken sunglasses and a sinker. Could be useful for crafts.
Later on I stumbled across an interesting stuff article about a man and his family who regularly walk the lagoon track and over the years have found a treasure trove of flotsam and jetsam - inlcuding a named container with the ashes of a dead person (which they returned to relatives), and two Malaysian Airlines suitcases containing crew uniforms and unreadable passports (which they did not return). Wtf.
Back on track, we made our way to the rivers edge to check out the water. I had brought my togs but yeah nah. The water looked clean but swift. Waimakariri mean "cold water" in Te Reo Māori.
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| Sea tulips |
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| Dosinia anuses |
Eventually we came to an orange marker and signage - our way back inland to the car. Just in time because the wind was icey and we were starting to get cold. The roosters were still at it as we sped off. We headed to the Flax Bar and Eatery for aroncini balls and hot chocolates and double- and triple-shot flat whites. Delicious victuals that warm you up from the inside.
