Waimakariri Zone Recreation Profile Prepared by Mary Sparrow for Ecan and WDC
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CANTERBURY WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY: WAIMAKARIRI ZONE RECREATION: CURRENT STATE REPORT Prepared by Mary Sparrow for Environment Canterbury and the Waimakariri District Council Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………..i 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Waimakariri Zone .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Profile .............................................................................................................. 3 2 THE WAIMAKARIRI ZONE WATERBODIES ................................................................. 5 3 WATER RELATED RECREATION ................................................................................ 9 3.1 Waimakariri River and Tributaries ........................................................................... 9 3.1.1 Waimakariri River ............................................................................................ 9 3.1.2 Kaiapoi River and tributaries .......................................................................... 17 3.1.3 Eyre River and tributaries............................................................................... 26 3.2 The Ashley River/Rakahuri and tributaries ............................................................ 29 3.2.1 Ashley Gorge and Lees Valley ....................................................................... 29 3.2.2 Mt. Thomas Forest Park ................................................................................ 32 3.2.3 Okuku River ................................................................................................... 35 3.2.4 Ashley/Rakahuri Regional Park...................................................................... 36 3.2.5 Ashley River/Rakahuri – general opportunities for jet boating and fishing ...... 38 4 THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................. 40 4.1 The beaches ......................................................................................................... 40 4.2 Tūhaitara Coastal Park ......................................................................................... 40 4.3 Ashley/Rakahuri estuary and tributaries .................................................................... 42 4.3.1 Pegasus ......................................................................................................... 43 4.3.2 The Taranaki Stream ..................................................................................... 45 4.3.3 Ashley River/Rakahuri and Saltwater Creek Estuarine Areas ........................ 45 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... 46 APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY OF RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES BY ACTIVITY ................ 47 APPENDIX 2: DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION TRACK COUNT RECORDS ............ 52 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 54 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document canvasses the recreation opportunities offered on or close to water in the Waimakariri District. It has been prepared to assist the Waimakariri Water Zone Committee with developing its recommendations for their Zone Implementation Programme addendum. The main waterbodies in the Waimakariri Zone are identified for the purposes of this report are: The Waimakariri River and its northern tributaries: the Eyre River and Coopers Creek, Kaiapoi River, Kaiapoi/Silverstream, Ohoka Stream (north and middle branches), Cust River and Cust Main Drain, and Cam River and its tributaries including Northbrook Ponds. The Ashley River/Rakahuri and its tributaries: including the Townshend and Whistler (in Lees Valley), the Glentui, Garry, Okuku and Makerikeri Rivers, and the Taranaki Stream and Salt Water Creek that discharge into the estuary. The coastal environment: Kairaki, Pines, Woodend, Pegasus and Waikuku Beaches, and Lake Pegasus and the coastal wetlands: Tūtaepatu Lagoon, and at Pegasus, the Eastern Conservation Management Area and the Mudfish Conservation Management Area. The recreation activities on the Waimakariri River are included in this report although the management of the river under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy is with the Regional Committee, and measures to manage this river will be included in an alpine rivers section of the Canterbury Land and water Regional Plan (CLWRP). The focus is on opportunities, on what opportunities there are in the District for activities on or close to water. It is important to appreciate that it is not only the District’s increasing population that is looking for opportunities in the outdoors but also people living in Christchurch. The District has large areas of public land which is being developed for recreation including the Tūhaitara Coastal Park, the Waimakariri and Ashley/Rakahuri Regional Parks and the Department of Conservation’s estate to the west of the District. Other areas close to water where public access is available include such areas as the banks of the Cust Main Drain. The Waimakariri District Council’s Ashley Gorge and Silverstream Reserves, the Northbrook Ponds and Kaiapoi Lakes are also important recreation areas. The main opportunities for swimming include the beaches, which are all patrolled during the summer by paid lifeguards. The swimming hole created each year in the Ashley River/Rakahuri at Rangiora and at Ashley Gorge. Other locally significant areas include the upper Eyre, the Okuku and Lees Valley. There are many locations along the Waimakariri River where it would be possible to swim, but these have not been identified in detail, and will depend on the level of the river. The Waimakariri River, the Kaiapoi River and Pegasus Lake are used extensively for rowing, dragon boat and mana-waka paddling. The Waimakariri Yacht and Power Boat Club is based at Kairaki, and there are opportunities for small boat sailing on Pegasus Lake. The Ashley Gorge, upper Okuku and the Waimakariri River (particularly the gorge) are valued for white water kayaking. The Waimakariri River is one of the most heavily boated rivers for jet i Waimakariri Zone Recreation Profile Prepared by Mary Sparrow For Ecan and WDC boating in New Zealand, and there are some opportunities for jet boats on the Ashley and Okuku Rivers depending flow. Jet boats and Kayaks provide the only practical means of gaining access to the stunning scenery of the Waimakariri Gorge. In addition to the recreation opportunities offered by the Waimakariri and Ashley/Rakahuri Regional Parks and these afforded in the Department of Conservation’s foothills parks, there are numerous stream-side esplanade and other reserves which provide opportunities to access the lowland streams. In addition, there are the Kaiapoi Lakes and the Northbrook Ponds which provide opportunities for passive recreation close to the District’s two main urban areas, while the conservation management areas provide similar opportunities at Pegasus. In view of the wide ranging opportunities it is more important to focus on the provision of facilities in the more popular recreation areas than looking to increase the range of opportunities. These could well include more specialised facilities such as the platform at McIntosh’s Hole to allow a wheelchair bound person to fish from the bank, in addition to toilet and changing facilities, seating, picnic tables and barbecues. ii Waimakariri Zone Recreation Profile Prepared by Mary Sparrow For Ecan and WDC 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Waimakariri Zone The Waimakariri Zone is one of 10 water management zones established under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS). This strategy is designed to provide for communities to participate in the collaborative management of water resources at a local level. To achieve this objective a series of zones were established across Canterbury, which coincided to a greater or lesser degree with territorial authority areas. Activities in each of these zones are overseen by a joint Environment Canterbury/territorial authority advisory committee established under the Local Government Act 2002. Each Zone Committee has elected/commissioner representatives of Environment Canterbury and the territorial authority or authorities whose territories are included in that Zone. The remaining members of the Zone Committees are community representatives selected because of their links with their respective communities and their interest in water management. A cornerstone of the CWMS is to ensure that Maori has the opportunity to honour their values of kaitiakitanga or guardianship of the natural resources of the area. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (TRONT) has a close relationship with Environment Canterbury, and participated in the development of the CWMS from the outset. Each of the Zone Committees has Rūnanga representatives to ensure that the aspirations of Maori are incorporated in regional water management decisions at all levels. The Waimakariri Water Zone Committee has representatives of Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga, which is based at Tuahiwi. The boundaries of the Waimakariri Zone approximately coincide with the boundaries of the Waimakariri District, which is bounded to the south by the Waimakariri River and from Pegasus Bay in the east. The Puketeraki Range forms the western boundary and to the north is the Hurunui District. The only variation between the District