Chipped away by nature
Rabbit Island has taken another beating from the weather, with the waterfront road broken up, beach access damaged and other infrastructure torn away.
Last Thursday’s king tide combined with the impact of excyclone Fehi took great chunks out of the the popular picnic spot.
Parts of the road running along the beachfront have slipped metres down onto the sand, access steps have been mangled and sign posts have been felled to lie with a small mountain of driftwood on the beach.
It’s the second pounding the island’s beach front has faced in a few months. The king tide in November carved out more than a three-metre drop to the water in places.
Tasman District Council communications officer Beth Catley said the island had been ‘‘given another beating, that’s for sure’’.
She said there had been ‘‘a fair bit’’ of erosion of the beach front, including the road.
The surging sea also left flood pools and debris.
‘‘If people are heading down there, they need to take care,’’ Catley said.
‘‘Drivers should exercise caution and park a little further back before walking to the front beach.’’
She said flood water ponding was ‘‘best to be treated as potentially contaminated so kids and pets – don’t play in the flood waters’’.
The beach front was re-opened on Monday afternoon to swimmers but the area around Boat Ramp Road was still closed.
Assessment of the damage and making sure it was safe for the public was council’s first priority.
In terms of a long-term plan, Catley said that was ‘‘a piece of work that staff are beginning to tackle now’’.
Spring Grove resident Jean Gorman was a frequent visitor to the island.
She said the beach level had lowered, plantings done over the last 20 years had been uprooted, posts and rope areas were gone and steps had been destroyed.
‘‘The roadway is chewed up and asphalt tossed back on itself,’’ she said.
‘‘In places the sea has even washed over the top of the bank and through into the pines.’’
Gorman said visitors to the beach were affected by the severe change in the landscape.
‘‘When I was down there, there was a lady who had been married on the beach ... she was very upset to see it like it was. Everyone was upset who was down there.’’
She said climate change was a real event and it had become a reality quicker than most expected.
It was expected in 10 years but it’s ‘‘beginning to hit home already’’.
Meanwhile the beach front was changed forever.
‘‘All we can do is tidy it up and live with it as it is. It won’t go back,’’ Gorman said.