Time: 2 hours (1 hour each way)
Distance: 9 km
Start: 100 Heyders Road, Spencer Park, Spencerville
Finish: Same place, it's there and back
Date: Friday 3rd November 2023
The car was on the blink (broken exhaust pipe and squeeky brakes) and so it was Plan B, Brooklands Lagoon. Just a short drive from Crikers, in the waka of my hoa rangatira - which smells a bit weird but has a tight turning circle.
To prove it we did an extra cycle of the QE2 roundabout and then, feeling somewhat squiffy, drove without further ado to Spencer Park. We parked in the small car park next to the Animal Park (no animals to be seen) and opposite the derelict looking Spencer Beach, Top Ten Holiday Park. The Brooklands Lagoon Track runs along the western shore of Brooklands Lagoon/Te Riu o Te Aika Kawa, parallel to the Waimakariri Walkway on the eastern side.
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".
Today the lagoon was like a mirror - relecting the grey overcast sky. Gazillions of birds were doing their thing (flying, sqwaking etc). We set off on the a grassy track, negotiating the muddy bits.
Virtually at the track start there is a lookout platform and a little further along a bird-hide. Lots of native plantings and resoration is underway and the Seafield Wetland has been developed since I was last here. We came upon a creek, just slightly too wide to jump, although Carolien - who was a long jump champion in her youth - could probably have done it. A kind soul had built up the most precarious looking bridge made haphazardly with driftwood branches. We shimmied across one at a time and got the cameras out just in case one of us fell in.
After about 40 minues we arrived (dry footed) at Beacon Street and the old Brooklands Red Zone. The land here was badly damaged in the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake and the residents mostly had to leave. A few houses still persist - hardy souls who decided to stay. We continued to follow the " Brooklands Lagoon Track" signs along the old streets and eventually came back to the water's edge. At this point we were near the confluence of the Styx, Kaiapoi and Waimakariri Rivers. They were just out of sight and so it felt like we were on a lake. But this waterway is connected to the Pacific Ocean/Moana nui a Kiwa. 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.
The track does a nice little loop here back to Beacon Street. We were ready for the turn journey - which always feels faster for some odd reason. It was drizzing slightly and we were soon back at the car. We decided to check out The Rowdy Kitchen. Coffee, hot chocolate and breads and dips (including caponata) to share. Fabulous!
