Popular Kaiko¯ura seal lookout reopens after earthquake repairs

Travellers driving between Kaiko¯ura and Blenheim this long weekend can finally stop at O¯ hau Point, where juvenile seals now trek over rockfall to play in their beloved waterfall nursery.

The waterfall walkway is still closed due to quake damage, but people can spot young fur seals along the coast.

A ‘‘safe stopping area’’ has space for 20 cars to park up, about 25 kilometres north of Kaiko¯ura, so travellers can check out the colossal changes, two years on from the 2016 earthquake.

NZ Transport Agency owner interface manager Colin Knaggs said O¯ hau Point was one of the most damaged parts of State Highway 1, as more than 100,000 cubic metres of loose rock and debris covered the hillside.

The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) team used helicopters with monsoon buckets to clear the cliff face, before abseilers secured the bluff with mesh, and the highway was rebuilt on a seawall, with protection from future earthquakes and stormy weather.

Despite the changes, protected fur seals continued to sunbathe along the coast, and baby seal numbers last summer were on par with previous years.

Department of Conservation south Marlborough operations manager Phil Bradfield said there was still a high risk of rockfall at the O¯ hau Stream walkway, and the landowners were still deciding whether to rebuild the track.

In some parts, rockfall had left the track and stream unrecognisable, Bradfield said.

‘‘There is still the odd young seal accessing the waterfall, but not many at the moment, and that’s mainly because of all the activity with the road rebuild, big machinery and lots of people,’’ Bradfield said.

The O¯ hau Stream walkway was ‘‘a pretty amazing spot’’, popular with ‘‘a lot of people, including international tourists’’, and had won tourism awards by popular vote, Bradfield said.

But there were plenty of seals along the coast and at the Kaiko¯ ura Peninsula on Fyffe Quay, just south of the township.

‘‘We have had reports recently of people not behaving appropriately around seals, so it’s important to remind people to stay at least 20 metres away from them,’’ Bradfield said.