Popular seal lookout reopens
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 as the ‘‘safe stopping area’’ opened yesterday.
There will be 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.
‘‘It’s been an incredible feat of engineering to get to this stage,’’ Knaggs said.
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. ‘‘We’ve had people try to touch them or get close enough for a selfie, but they are wild animals and they can move very quickly on land, even though they appear docile, and they are carnivores with very sharp teeth.’’
Knaggs said the safe stopping area would get a makeover early next year, with plantings and cultural design elements to be developed with help from iwi artists and carvers. It would be the first of several between Clarence and Oaro, he said.
NCTIR network operations manager Tresca Forrester said people travelling between Christchurch and Blenheim should allow plenty of time for their trip, as there were still stopgo sections and lower speed limits. ‘‘We’re still working hard along the coast to make the road safer and more resilient for the future, and many parts, including O¯ hau Point, are still a construction zone.
People could check travel times before leaving at the NZTA website.