A Community That Makes Things Happen!

The Kawatiri River Trail is a picturesque walking and biking track that runs alongside the Buller/Kawatiri River in Westport. 

About eight years ago, the Buller Cycling Club came up with an idea to create a network of trails through an area of wasteland and the Westport community made it happen. What was once mud, gorse and wetland, has now been transformed into an eight kilometre bike and walking trail. And, remarkably, all this was achieved by volunteers.

The dog-friendly walk starts (or finishes, depending which end you begin) beside the NZMCA Park, at North Beach. The track winds through native bush, amongst many shades of green flora.

NZMCA Park, North Beach.

Start (or end) of the Kawatiri Track.

Old hockey turf or weed mat forms the base of the path with a covering of gravel. The track twists and turns, towards Shingles Beach (a small sand beach on the Buller River). It's a place that holds fond childhood memories for Bernie. He spent many of his younger years at Shingles Beach, swimming, surfing and riding waves. When we got to the beach, Bernie bailed on the rest of the walk, deciding instead to sit and reminisce. So, my furry friends and I continued on, unchaperoned.

Swimmers at Shingles Beach

Looking down the Buller River towards the river mouth.

From Shingles Beach, we headed towards the Lost Lagoon. The track became more open, with a change in vegetation.

Weka territory!

Lost Lagoon

After two years of planning, followed by three and a half months of building, a bridge materialised over The Lost Lagoon. All credit must go to the enormous effort and support from the community, making what had started out as an idea, turn into a reality. The bridge was aptly named 'The Volunteer's Bridge,' honouring the people who made it happen.

Volunteer's Bridge over The Lost Lagoon

Further along, we came to the 'Floating Basin Boardwalk', which is 200 metres long! Again, the construction of this challenging project was achieved by locals. A crew of up to 15 volunteers, spent 10 weeks making the boardwalk, which was financed through fund-raising. Contributions were made from DOC, Holcim, Westport's Mitre 10, the Council and community-funding. Locals lent diggers, chainsaws, compactors and tractors, along with their expertise and many hours of hard work. Everyday, for two months, lunches for the volunteers were supplied by a local cafe. An impressive community effort!

We turned back once we'd crossed the boardwalk, it wasn't the end of the walk but the dogs were hot and in need of some water. After walking over the floating basin (heading away from the port), there's a short walk called the 'Harbour Loop Track', which provides fabulous views of the port and mountains (when they're not hidden in cloud). On a day without wind, the reflections in this sheltered haven are stunning, making it a popular spot for photographers. 

In 1988 the Government made a decision to remove itself from operating Westport Harbour. The port and assets (such as the Kawatiri dredge, wharves, jetties etc) were offered to the Westport Borough Council and the Buller District Council, which they accepted.

But alas, in July 2016, the port lost it's biggest customer when Holcim Cement Works closed down and shipping cement from Westport finished.

The remains of an old cattle wharf can be seen alongside the track. 

The photo below shows the old cattle wharf and the stocks yards behind.

Photo supplied with permission

Part of the old cattle wharf has been revamped into a fishing platform and is the result of another community project. Not only is it a popular fishing spot, it also preserves a special bygone era. 

The new fishing wharf - to the left you can see some of the old cattle wharf.

Looking over the old cattle wharf towards the port.

The track ran beside the Buller River back towards Shingles Beach, where I'd left Bernie. We'd taken longer than I thought so I was surprised he was still waiting. Maybe all the memories of the good old days had made time stand still for him.

Swimmers at Shingles Beach

The photo below shows the two breakwaters on each side of the Buller River, which were completed in 1892. These structures were made as barriers to improve access to the port. They were extended by another 300 feet in 1966/7. 

The walk back was nice, with wild cherry trees providing some welcome shade.

We wandered through Les Warren Park, passing flowering pohutukawa trees, and then arrived back on North beach.

And, to make my day even better, there was a driftwood teepee. I love seeing these.

During warmer months, North Beach is a sought after spot for swimming and is popular all year round for fishing and surfing. The beach seems to change each time we visit, sometimes it's smothered in piles of driftwood, dumped by thunderous surf. Other times, coloured stones appear and the sea is calm and peaceful. 

Oakly still had some energy left, and was excited to be on the beach again!

 The perfect place to dig big holes.

DOC manages a freedom camping area, right beside the beach. Both nights we were there, it was full. There aren't too many beaches in New Zealand that still allow camp fires, fortunately North Beach is one of them. 

As evening drew to a close, a warm glow of golden light appeared. It was time to get the camera out and take the dogs back to the beach. 

A creative person had made a rustic tree.

As the sun disappeared behind clouds, Bernie tried his luck with a bit of fishing. However with an outgoing tide, conditions weren't ideal, so there wasn't any fish for dinner that night. But wow, what a beautiful place to hang out.

Westport will always be a special place for me. I look back with fond memories of the brief time I lived there. The people were (and are) friendly and welcoming, and as a community they're truly the best ... quick to rally around to help those in need, or to fundraise for a worthy cause. 

Yes, it does have it's fair share of wet weather, but this little West Coast town also has many sunny days (particularly in February). It's rich in history and proud of it - and to top it off, it has some of New Zealand's most stunning scenery.  

20,000 Views

Yesterday the post counter on my 'Paws Awhile' blog rolled past 20,000 views. To celebrate, I'll post a photo of a sunset, because I love watching and photographing them.

This one was on TV1 Weather last night and was taken at the Tip head, North Beach, Westport.

A Weekend in Westport

We got the truck back from the garage with it's reconditioned motor and decided to go away for a weekend. Bernie chose Westport. It was far enough away to give the truck a work out but close enough to allow us to travel there in a couple of hours (well, a bit more than that - close to three hours).
It would also be the first time Bernie and I have traveled together towing the rig. Usually I follow behind in the light vehicle with the dogs. This time we left the dogs at home with our neighbour Sarah looking after them.

The night before we packed up and secured the bikes in the truck's shed. They were to be our mode of transport. Bernie finished work at lunchtime on Thursday and we took less than an hour to hitch up the rig and leave Nelson.

We were expecting the road from Kawatiri Junction through to the Buller turnoff to be busy. We weren't wrong. It was similar to a motorway! The traffic has increased dramatically since the Kaikoura earthquake cut off the East Coast's route.

Lots of stops for road works, repairing roads due to the increase of traffic.

It was a relief to turn off the highway, towards Buller Gorge. As usual the lush, abundant native bush stood out throughout the drive. Ferns everywhere and some roads winding under a tunnel of overhanging native trees. Simply stunning.

When we reached Hawks Crag I got Bernie to drop me off so I could photograph the truck going underneath the rock. I was interested to see how much clearance we had. Evidently quite a bit.

Other special features of the Buller Gorge were the iron bridges and traffic lights placed on narrow, rural roads.

Westport greeted us with warm, dry weather. We drove through town to North Beach and unhitched the rig.

Dinner that night was 'Tony's Fish n Chips' and we weren't disappointed. I still rank these as the best I've tasted!

That night we were treated to a spectacular sunset. Drifting off to the sound of waves crashing onto shore was the perfect end to the day.

The next morning we climbed on our bikes and cycled the new bike/walking track that Westport's community have developed. It starts at North beach and winds in amongst bush and trees parallel to the beach. Then crosses over the road to the tip head and veers towards the township via Shingle Beach and The Lost Lagoon.

Once in town we visited the 'coal museum'. Bernie bought a book on 'Denniston' which he says is fantastic. 

We grabbed Chinese for lunch and because the day was hot and sunny we sat at a picnic table under some trees beside the Main Street.

Then we biked to visit Fran & Ron (Bernie's sister and brother 'n' law). Ron is creative and able to put his hand to anything - here's a giant Indian he made from tyres and other recycled materials. I should have asked Bernie to stand beside it, to appreciate its size!

The great thing about the location of Westport is it's flat, which makes biking a breeze. 

Later that evening, the clouds rolled in, so there wasn't a sunset to capture. It was still nice to walk along the beach, past groups of people cooking sausages over beach fires. Someone had the perfect view from their kombi.

The NZMCA park where we stayed must have had 16 -20 campers, caravans, and buses each night while we were there. Some left in the morning to explore and returned later that evening. Others stayed overnight and left early the next day to continue their travels.

The cost was $3 per person per night. The visitors book was handily kept in a fridge under cover in an iron shed. The freezer part of the fridge had a range of books to read.

Saturday morning we woke to clouds smothering the sky. I got up just after 7 to capture the sunrise.

"Red in the morning, shepherds warning"

The colours changed so quickly. By the time I walked the short distance to the beach the colours had intensified! The colours were beautiful - I couldn't stop clicking (these are just a few of what I actually took).

Although it was threatening to rain, it was good to relax at the rig. We got a few visitors which was lovely. Don (Bernie's brother), Chris (my friend from South School), Fran & Ron, other campers wanting to check out the rig and our friends Julie & Trev (and their daughter Emma).

Sunday, we threw the bikes in the truck's shed and drove 25 minutes south to Charleston. I was keen to photograph 'Constant Bay' and bike along Beach Road which runs along the Nile River.

We walked up Flagstaff Hill which gives a good view over the mouth of the bay. It got its name back in the gold rush days when boats had to navigate their way through the narrow and treacherous entrance.

A red flag indicated that boats could enter.

A blue flag meant the water was low and for the captain to wait for the tide to turn.

Seeing a white flag hoisted meant the entrance was dangerous and the surf too heavy for boats to enter. 

We left Constant Bay and had lunch at a local cafe. An old decrepit bach sat neglected across the road.

Once our tummies were full we set off to the Nile River which is only a few metres from Charleston heading north. We parked the truck and rode our bikes along the gravel road following the tannin stained river.

Some creative person wove a fish from flax and hung it from driftwood.

 Back at the rig we got chatting to our neighbours, Marilyn & Murray from the Kapiti Coast. They have rented out their house and are traveling around NZ in their campervan. They live on a lifestyle block and grow olive trees, which they use to make their own olive oil. We were thrilled when they gave us a bottle.

If the dogs had of been with us they would have gone nuts with the wood hens wandering around the camp. Obviously they've been fed because they're super tame and tried many times to join us in the rig. A caravan across from us had left their cat tied to their van while they were out. When I went over to see the cat, a wood hen joined me. It walked straight up to the cat and grabbed the poor thing's tail. The cat got a heck of a fright and shot off under the van!

There was no sunrise the following morning, just cloud. The beach was deserted except for a cycling tourist snuggled up in a sleeping bag on a picnic bench. I'm sure it can't have been a very comfortable night's rest.

Time to leave....We had an awesome few days away. We both weren't ready to leave but we were looking forward to seeing the dogs. We packed up, hitched up and headed to the dump station with Fran, Marilyn & Murray waving us goodbye.

The new dump station is well placed for bigger rigs. We went in the truck to check how easy it would be to get in there. Lots of room.

Driving out of Westport you can't help but admire the handy work of some creative wood stacker. Each season he creates something new with his firewood. Last time it was a kiwi - this time a fish.

One of the little traditions we like to do when we stay at a new place is to collect some wild flowers to display in the rig. Here's a selection gathered from North Beach.