South Rakaia Huts... The Rakaia River Mouth...

I came here out of curiosity as somewhere in my head I had vague
memories of coming here as a child with my family - shooting
rabbits in the river bed... But I don't think it was here!

This place is very organised. It is owned by the South Rakaia
Bach Owners Association, comprising 71 member families.
It owns the freehold tenure of approximately 10 hectares
on the south side of the Rakaia River mouth. There are 71 individually
owned homes; approximately 30% of which are occupied by
permanent residents, the remainder being holiday homes.
The Association is managed by a Committee elected by
fellow bach owners. They are a completely different entity
to the North Rakaia Hut settlement.

I stayed here three nights and found out all this information

as I chatted to some of the locals, knowledgeable fisher people,

all of them. It answered my amazement that such an out of the way

place is so cared for. Look here to read more interesting information.

At the top of this map you will see the designated camping area...

To find it was my next mission! So on I drove...

On my right were these garages and the row of letter boxes...

Water tanks and toilets? ... 

On my left the stop bank created by the community

to stop flooding...

A park area... There is another picnic area and play ground

further round the road, opposite from where I parked.

I drove round well kept gravel roads...

Neat and tidy houses of all sizes, ages and descriptions...

The couple who live here have lived here for 21 years. What he
didn't know abut the local salmon and trout fishing wasn't worth

even thinking about. He told me he had caught 20+ salmon

this season and that I wouldn't catch any! Too late, the season's

over, the river's in flood... Mmmm...

New housing...

Big houses...

And original houses that could tell a story or two...

And here I am... The little camping area.
Toilets and  cold water taps...

Nobody there but me... I was told that was unusual... But I

didn't mind. I had a cold and wanted to escape from people

and be unsociable for a few days. This was the perfect place.

However, local people came and said hello and checked I was ok

and one took me driving in his 4x4 over the stones to the river

mouth... And we went fishing...

There were lots of huge Macracapa hedges for shelter

from the strong and bitterly cold easterly winds.

Tracks for 4x4's and...

Motor bikes and quads...

All led to the same place...

The long stony beach.

Here's the mouth of the Rakaka River. It's in flood because there
has been a lot of rain on the West Coast.

There was a lot of talk in the community about a new mouth.

The Rakaia rises in the Southern Alps, travelling 150 km's in

a generally easterly or southeasterly direction  before entering the

Pacific Ocean 50 km's south of Christchurch.

Rakaia Gorge in my last post is about 50-70km upstream.

The force of the water had washed away a large portion 

of shingle and created a whole new mouth. This was of concern

to the residents as it was getting closer to the stop bank that

stops the housing area from flooding.

There was a huge volume of water racing past.

I was told another reason for no salmon was with this amount

of dirty water and at the rate it was flowing the salmon if they

hadn't already gone up river to spawn would have gone

out to sea again.

Looking up river, you can see the sharp bank the

water flow has created.

The shingle edge of the bank was constantly falling away.

Dangerous... don't stand too close. Lives have been lost here.

The waves created by the current of the river meeting the sea.

Here's an aerial photo I found giving a good overview, the

South Rakaia Huts being to the right of this photo.

The Rakaia and Rangitātā are the only two major rivers in
New Zealand  that originate from high-altitude glacier-dominated
mountain sources. They flow more than 100 kilometres across the
Canterbury Plains to the sea. 

The mean annual flow in the Rakaia is 221 cumecs (cubic
metres per second), but it is estimated that by 2018 it may be as
low as 76 cumecs, because of water taken for irrigation.
During a flood, it can be as high as 3,700 cumecs.

Read here for some very interesting information about
 this river and how the land all around the Ashburton district
is changing as farming is changing from traditional sheep farming
 to dairy farming... More money of course...
So the farmers are told! But the conservationists, Forest and Bird
and the Botanists call the area a green desert and are very upset at
what the government is allowing to happen.

But off we went,  back along the beach to try a spot of fishing...

The catch of the day... Two at a time. I can't remember but
think they were 'Spiny Dog Fish'. They look like a sand shark
but not the Lemon Fish or Fish 'N Chip type shark.

I was told 'Not edible' by the local fisherman I was with so
we left  them on the  beach... Even the seagulls 

will only eat the eyes!

The have a lethally sharp spike hidden by that little fin... Can you see it?

Dusk again as I went for my last walk of the day...

A beautiful end to an interesting day.

Breakfast At Rakaia Gorge...

 I'm on  my way back to Christchurch. I've just spent a couple

of nights in the Ashburton area but left early this morning

and decided to avoid SH1 and tiki tour through Methven,

Rakaia Gorge, Hororata and call and visit a friend

on the Bealey Road near Aylesbury.

Ashburton was cold and frosty so I went seeking

some sun and ended up here...

 My view from my bus... The Rakaia River and bridge...

 Then looking further east along this huge braided river...

 I ventured out... Well wrapped up... This coat has been my

best South Island buy ever... All my layers of wool underneath,

and with wind proof/water proof leggings, two pairs of gloves,

woolen socks and boots... I'm set for anything.

 I walked to a lookout nearby... Looking west towards the

 mountains... I drove past the Mt Hutt ski field turnoff...

So snow around and more forecast tonight.

 A big over view to the east...

And of course... Collected a bag of pine cones for my fire

tonight. I'll be snug and warm.

Rakaia Gorge...

We left Hororata... Driving through the flat Canterbury Plains...

Crops growing here...

Sheep grazing... Unperturbed by the bitterly cold climate...

We got closer to the mountains... Not much snow...

And here's our next destination... The Rakaia River...

At the gorge.

On one side of the road, overlooking the river is the

Mt Hutt Lodge, close to Methven and the ski fields.

On the other side of the road is the Rakaia River with the huge

wide expanse of shingle river bed... One of the largest

braided rivers in New Zealand. 

 The Rakaia River has a mean flow of 203 cubic metres per second and 

a mean annual seven-day low flow of 87 cubic metres per second.

It rises in the Southern Alps travelling 150 kilometres in a

 generally easterly or southeasterly direction before entering the 

Pacific Ocean 50 kilometres south of Christchurch.

it is briefly confined to a narrow canyon known as the Rakaia Gorge.

The Rakaia River is bridged in two places. The busiest crossing is 

at the small town of Rakaia 20 kilometres from the river mouth, 

where State Highway 1 and the South Island Main Trunk Railway

cross the river using separate bridges. These two bridges are New 

 Zealand's longest road and rail bridges respectively,
approximately 1.75 km long. A second bridge, much shorter
and less used, spans the Rakaia Gorge.

These are the two bridges at Rakaia Gorge...

Both with a lot of history.

This concrete pole measures the water depth, of particular

 interest when in flood. You can see how the water flow has

washed away the bank and the different colours of the silt and

 stone buildup over the years.

The Rakaia River is fed by meltwater from the Lyell and Ramsay Glaciers.

There are some people in this photo that I took standing on one 

of the bridges... Puts the size of the river into perspective!

There is a small sheltered camping area with water and toilets.

I want to go back when the weather improves

and do some of these walks.

The Rakaia is also well known for Salmon and Trout fishing.

I'd like to try that! Need some lessons and a license first!

Having walked over both bridges and looked around

it was time to head for home...

Along the endless flat roads, the huge shelter belts...

In this photo if you look carefully you can see the enormous

irrigation machines that stretch the width and length of the paddocks.