Licorice Allsorts: Banks Peninsular

Showing posts with label Banks Peninsular. Show all posts

Saturday, 3 May 2014

Birdlings Flat... Gathering Coloured Stones...

I have been in Christchurch for ten days.

We have done lots of things and been

lots of places. One place was Birdlings Flat

on the Kaitorete Spit on Banks Peninsula...

On the way to Akaroa.

It's a wild desolate place... Why did I want to go there?

To gather these beautiful coloured stones.

There is now a gemstone museum...

The road into Birdlings Flat beach and residential area.

Even the road in looks desolate...

It's a wild stony beach on the East Coast of the South Island.

This is the beginning of Lake Forsyth...

It's fed both from a channel at the far end of the beach

which is dredged out from time to time and also the

water seeps under all the stones.

Stones... Stones...

And more stones as far as you can see.

The waves are wild and strong. They crash onto the stones...

And suck out again...

Get caught in them and you would be history.

Many dogs have drowned here chasing sticks.

Over time the sea has made high banks of stones.

Walking up them is a mission... One step up...

Two down again... But there are millions

of coloured stones to be found.

These are the few I picked up... To take home to my bus!

This is some of the residential area.

People live here for the fishing...

I'm told it's good surf casting... Kahawai to be caught...
I'll come back in my bus and find out how they do it
in such rough surf.

It was bitterly cold... The wind was piercing and

lovely as it was to visit and re-live some old memories

of going there over the years...

I was pleased to get back into the car and turn up the heater!

Saturday, 6 April 2013

Earthquake Victims... Another 'People' Story...

This is Delyse Langhorn and Jorge Santos.
They live in this lovely property with beautiful views
over Governors Bay, Banks Peninsular.
Their property has been 'Red Zoned' because
of threatening rock falls all round the Port Hills.
They are amongst 132 affected residents in this area
who have challenged their land zoning and are still
waiting... For the Canterbury Earthquake
Recovery Authority (Cera) to made a decision.
Applications to challenge a zoning decision closed
in October 2012... And still they are waiting...
27 months after the February 27, 2011 earthquake.
Cera say the analysis review cannot be rushed!
Jorge says "all trust in Cera ia dead and gone"...
A Sumner resident, John Cook, whose home was also
red zoned, said he is "totally disillusioned" with the process.
These 132 residents have until August 31, 2013, to
accept or not the Government's payout offer,
which will probably be as pathetic and unrealistic as the offer
of 50% of the rateable value, made to Richard & Rachel
(yesterday's post)...
The clock is ticking towards the August 31 deadline...
And they are still waiting for the re-zoning review results.
This leaves them currently in limbo...
And also in a predicament if they are not re-zoned...
With the pay out money not being enough to relocate to a similar
property and lifestyle...
Again... What would you do?

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Weekend In Akaroa... A Little French Village

I came with a friend to Akaroa for the weekend
Akaroa - meaning 'Long Harbour' is a beautiful historical town...
Settled in the heart of an ancient volcano...
On Banks Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand...
It has a tiny permanent population of only 700... More here.
The French were the first to arrive here in 1838...
They bought land to establish a whaling port, returned to France to bring more people to live here...
But returned in 1840 to discover...
That Banks Peninsula had been claimed by the British... Read about it here.

This is the view from the house where we are staying.
It's a cold Christchurch day...
Raining and ony 5 degrees...

The Akaroa Harbour... No boating activity today...
But it is the home to Hector Dolphins...
Endemic to New Zealand and one of the smallest and rarest
dolphins in the world.