Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes
Distance: 11.5 km
Start: The tree opposite 75 Rotoiti Lane, Clearwater Resort
Finish: Same place. It's loopish.
Date: Friday 15th May 2026
Clearwater Resort. Hmmmm [pause for thought]. A somewhat closed community with a weird vibe. Think Stepford Wives. A hangout for rich golfy types just north of Christchurch Airport. If you are prepared to ignore the "residents only" sign (and thus risk any possible consequences), you can park your waka on the grass verge opposite the flash houses on Rotoiti Street. Not a soul in sight. From here it is a short walk (if you dare) across the grass to a pathway and a small bridge which spans the cress-lined Ōtūkaikano Creek.
After about 10 minutes on the Ōtūkaikano Track, we arrived at another fancy bridge where the Isaac Loop Walk starts and leads on to the Isaac Farm Walkway. Both were created, and are maintained, by the Isaac Conservation and WildlifeTrust. The trust is the legacy of Sir Neil and Lady Diana Isaac, fine upstanding Cantabrians by all accounts. They bought the surrounding lands in the 1950's and started the Isaac Construction Company - which doesn't sound particularly environmental. I tried to dig some dirt on them - I don't know why - but couldn't. It seems they went on to support a mutlitude of conservational and philanthropic projects in Canterbury, including Peacock Springs, a native bird breeding and rehabilitation center (in conjunction with Te Papa Atawhai/Department of Conservation) - currently closed to the public.
An A380 flew lowly overhead with a roar. It disappeared from sight, but a few minutes later, the roar reached a crescendo as the plane reverse-thrusted upon landing. Apparently it's a thing to bonk in cars at the end of runways. I didn't know that. Anyway, after that, planes were thundering overhead every few minutes - probably due to the fog lifting. Or perhaps just a typical day? Plenty of jet fuel to go around despite a fuel crisis looming.
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By now we were following the loooong pine shelterbelt in the long wet grass with sopping wet feet. It would have been a bit of a slog had we not been nattering about fake wedding rings, and taking photos of dead things. Not much of a walk but, as Edel pointed out, it's more about the "Fellowship of the Walk".
We climbed the stopbank and arrived at the Waimakariri River, flowing fast and blue. There was a small spot between the willows where you could get close to the edge and peer down to the water streaming past below.
On the way back we gathered at a willow tree to check out a large animal hanging dead from a trap. A truly gruesome sight. We thought at first it was a small bear or perhaps a large possum, but it turned about to be a huge black cat about the size of a small panther. Feral cats are getting bigger apparently and I think we may have been witnessing evolution unfolding right before our eyes: "In a hundred years, little black panthers will be eating small trampers". Later we met the guy clearing the traps who said they had been trying to catch it for weeks.
The last bit of the walk was around the Isaac Loop Track, a sweet 10 minute detour, dotted with native plantings. Then it was back across the forbidden bridge into the Clearwater Resort. We got in the car and drove away at double speed just in case any residents objected to our illegal presence. But not a soul in sight.
We were simply too muddy to go to Peppers (the Clearwater Resort fine dining restaurant), and besides the whole local vibe gave us the woollies. So we drove a few k's south to Terra Viva Cafe and Deli where it was busy busy and we were super lucky to get a cosy booth. We ate scones and quiches and stuff like that, chatting happily about choosing one's own burial plot. I think we have had this conversation before? Afterwards we checked out the gift shop - undeniably a honeycomb candle trap - but we did score a couple of fart cushions.
