Weekend at Ward Beach

Ward Beach is a wild, deserted beach with interesting rock formations about 50kms south of Blenheim. Bernie and I have stayed there before and were looking forward to spending a weekend relaxing with the dogs. 

Once parked we opened the back doors of the bus to be rewarded with magnificent ocean views.

Oakly found an ideal spot. Lying on the bed he had the perfect view to watch and wait for any sign of movement.

 

Beside the bus, beneath a large macrocarpa tree is a pile of decorated stones. Previous campers have left a memento of their Ward Beach visit.

As the sky darkened, it looked like the forecasted rain wasn't far away, so we set off for a walk before the weather closed in.

Old tide marks on the rocks show the rise of the sea bed due to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2016. 

Due to fault movement the change in the seabed level has had a big impact on local commercial fishing. Before the earthquake several crayfishing boats were launched from Ward Beach with the aid of bulldozers. Nowadays it's not as busy because the Environment Court issued an injunction order to stop fishing companies from launching off the beach. This was due to the concerns of Forest and Bird that bulldozers dragging boats would disrupt the habitat of the banded dotterel and the variable oyster catcher. 

From a distance it looked as though white paint had been splattered across some rocks. These white markings are what's left of the kelp and sea life which were once attached to rocks before the coastline was uplifted. Now that the remains have rotted away all that's left behind is a white substance.

The different rock formations make great photo subjects. Not only is it a great place for photographers and sight seers, I'm sure geologists would enjoy this area too.

Just a short walk from the Ward Beach reserve are some large spherical boulders. Their cannon ball appearance makes them similar to the popular Moeraki Boulders on the Otago Coast. Although not as big as the Moeraki Boulders they're the same type of formation.
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With rain approaching, we decided to turn back.

Looks a bit like a moon landscape.

And just as we got back to the bus the first drops began and before long rain was hammering on the roof. It was cosy inside, listening to the sound of the storm raging. The bus groaned and shook as each wind gust hit. Falling asleep to the sound of the blustery weather around us was bliss. 

When we woke the next morning the sky was blue and the air still, there wasn't a breath of wind. Such a contrast to the night before.

I decided to take the dogs for a walk southwards along the beach. We started by following the Flaxbourne River running out to sea.

Upstream the river provides irrigation for stock and is named after the large Flaxbourne sheep station. Currently the residents of the nearby township 'Ward' have a plan in place to rename their town 'Flaxbourne'.

A white-faced heron took a break from searching for its breakfast and obligingly posed for a photo. The white-faced heron (matuku) has some interesting ways of feeding. At times it slowly stalks its prey (small fish, frogs, insects and other aquatic creatures), while other times it may give chase. Another technique it uses is called foot raking, this is when the heron stands on one leg and uses the other leg to rake the underwater debris to stir up small creatures, which it quickly spears and eats.

Oakly and Boo merged into the environment well, they even had a camouflage look going on.

This large black and white shag known as a pied shag didn't seem at all bothered by us walking by. Worldwide there are 36 species of shags, which are also known as cormorants. New Zealand has 12 of these species living mostly near the sea, however they can also be seen near lakes and rivers.

The end of the Flaxbourne River - where the river meets the sea. 

The rocky outcrops that have appeared since the earthquake made an interesting walk, there were a few rock pools but not a lot of life in them.

The only splashes of colour seen, were clumps of bright orange kelp, a few random shells and a handful of hardy plants. The barren, rugged terrain created a unique beauty. I found it therapeutic looking at the different rock patterns and shapes, with the sound of the ocean nearby.

From a distance I thought the birds (in the above photo) were penguins, however they turned out to be small shags, which quickly scarpered into the sea as we got closer.

One of the bonuses of this walk, were the seals we met. Each one was basking in the sun. Perhaps they were taking a break from foraging for food or maybe they were having time away from the demands of their pups.

Although it was tempting to walk to the next peninsula I knew Bernie was waiting for us back at the bus. That walk would have to wait for another time.

Wild and Wonderful = Ward Beach

Ward beach was everything I'd hoped it would be - and more. And as it was only a few hours from home, it was put to the top of our 'To Visit' list.
The spot we stayed, was right beside the beach. It's owned by local farmers (Herb & Pip Thompson). The Thompsons have generously put aside an area at the north end of the Ward Beach Picnic Reserve area. No overnight parking is allowed in the reserve area but Herb and Pip have set up a place where NZMCA members and self-contained vehicles can stay for a donation.
I know I've said this before but I've just got to mention it again ... the simplicity of pulling up in our wee bus, turning off the key and knowing you're now set up is bliss. So quick. So easy.

And better still, we had the spot to ourselves - just how we like it. Isolated and private, no need to pull the curtains. The photos below show our view. 

Not long after arriving, it began to drizzle. An ideal time to sit back and enjoy a cuppa, while admiring the view and listening to the sea pounding onto shore.

Luckily the rain didn't last. So the dogs and I were off to explore.
I apologise if some of the photos seem a bit strange ... unfortunately my camera started playing up. I can't really blame it - I've had it for about three years now and it's been well and truly thrashed. For some reason it altered the ISO whenever I took a photo, so the light randomly changed with every photo I took.

The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake (7.8 magnitude), uplifted the seabed about 2 metres, which exposed a range of rocks. In the photo below you can see where the original tide mark had been.

As a result of the earthquake, Ward Beach now has its own type of 'Moeraki Boulders'. It  took about ten minutes to walk (north) to find these new 'Ward Beach Boulders'. The beach is covered in small stones, making walking quite slow. If you're keen to see these spherical shaped rocks, low tide would be the best time.

I decided not to walk any further, as the sky was darkening and rain clouds were moving closer. 

We stopped to explore the rock pools as we wandered back. Oakly had to peer into every pool and investigate every crevice. Just like me, he gets so much enjoyment from nature.

Although we didn't see much life in the tidal pools, the different formations made it interesting.

How do these plants manage to grow and thrive in such harsh conditions?

Back at the bus we had dinner, watched the sunset and settled in for an early night. I don't think Oakly slept all night, he'd spotted a rabbit and spent the whole night sitting in the drivers seat watching and waiting!

The next morning I was up early, hoping for a nice sunrise and also hoping the cray boats would be launched.

Oakly, watching the sunrise with me.

An hour or so later, I heard a bulldozer start up. Yahoo - that meant, the cray boats were heading out.

After walking over the stones, I could see why a bulldozer was needed to tow the boats down to the water - everything else would sink and get stuck.

Bernie chatted to one of the fisherman and discovered, before the earthquake the cray boats only had a short beachfront to launch from. The photo below, shows Bernie and the fisherman - prior to the earthquake, the beachfront (where they're standing and several metres to the right of them), had been underwater.

Once the boat was skilfully backed into the water, it powered away to check the cray pots. 

Occasionally, the sea becomes too rough, making it too dangerous for the boats to be brought out of the water. When this happens, they wait further out until conditions are calm enough to approach shore. And as you can imagine, this may take several hours.

Time was marching on, so we wandered back to the bus for breakfast, but not before Boo struck an early morning pose.

Again, organising the bus to leave was effortless. As we were leaving I spotted a pile of painted stones beside the gate (I'm not sure how I missed these when we arrived). Campers had decorated rocks and/or written their names on them. What a cool idea. 

We loved our stay at Ward Beach and look forward to visiting again.