Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Distance: 5.6 km
Start: The Willows car park at the end of Thompsons Road, West Melton
Finish: Same place - it's a loop
Date: Friday 2nd February 2024
The Waimakariri River Regional Park comprises 15,000 hectares of river bed and bank, managed by Environment Canterbury who have divided it into a bunch of activity areas. On the north bank is Kaiapoi Island (see our very own Friday Walkies blog post: Kaiapoi Island Trail) and on the south bank there are a whole bunch of projects on the go:
1. McLeans Island (walking and biking)
2. West Melton Forest (horse riding but walkers are welcome on the forestry roads)
3. Te Rauakaaka (walking and birdwatching in a salt marsh)
4. Baynons Brake (horse riding but walkers welcome)
6. McIntosh's (fishing)
7. Templers Island (walking and biking)
8. The Willows (walking and bike riding)
9. Weedons Forest (tail bike riding).
The "islands" McLeans, Kaiapoi and Templers (a.k.a Templars) have long since disappeared due to 150 years of flooding mitigation but their names persist. Today with yet another front sweeping rapidly in from the south - forecasted to hit at 11 am on the dot - we decided to check out The Willows.
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| The Waimakariri River Regional Park |
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| The "islands" in 1928 |
Despite Google Maps sending us on a rather higgeldy piggeldy route through Christchurch, as well as a slight miscommunication about our exact rendezvous point (#lefteyestarting2twitch), we were all at The Willows car park at the end of Thompsons Road at around 9:30 am and, after a pee in the stinky loo, ready for action.
First up, a quick look at the river - fabulously blue. Clear, shallow and rushing past. In Te Reo Māori "wai" means "water" and "makariri" means "cold". Kim and I had brought our togs for a swim, but yeah, nah - there were warning signs: "Toxic algae could be present" and "Faecal contamination risk". Good grief. Why???? And what on earth happened to 100% Pure NZ?
Later on I did some sleuthing on the
Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA) website. There was one algal bloom in 2020 which is enough to have a warning in place forever. But yes, the main issue is the general degradation of many of Canterbury's waterways. People and cows basically. Shit. Or should I say E
. Coli. Anyway, no swimming today.
We set off on the McIndoe Track, a well-formed and sign-posted gravelly path which winds its way through exotic forest. Willows, beeches, poplars and pines. Exceeding expectations, the sun came out and the forest looked lovely, dappled in light. We noticed each tree was sunk weirdly into its own individual hollow. River control and flood protection plantations apparently.
The track bifurcated and we took the Loop Track - a 1.4 km detour. Then we popped back onto McIndoe Track. Gun shots could be heard close by from the neighbouring rifle range. Slightly disconcerting. The Canterbury braided rivers always have a wild west (#hillbillys, #deliverance) type feel to them.
The pace was fairly speedy and so we got around the whole loop in good time. We were walking so fast that we completely missed all the plums trees, laden with ripe fruit [luckily I got to sample some the following day with my hoa rangatira]. As we neared the car park, the first big drops of rain started and we donned rain jackets for the first time in 2024. It was 11 am on the dot.
We jumped in the car and headed straight to Kirwee. On State Highway 73, just opposite that war memorial that looks like a Tardis, is the new
Thirsty Acres Bar & Cafe. It replaces the old
Kirwee Tavern (the "Wee") which burned down on Christmas Day in 2019.
It was cosy with the rain outside, and we ended up having coffee and scones while listening to Meatloaf and Michael Jackson and discussing the pros and cons of bookings.com and trips to South America for lucky buggers.
Further reading (for [my] future reference):
