The bay that catches the south wind
We all love Oreti Beach, and with that comes a responsibility to take care of it, writes Mary-Jo Tohill.
Te Whanga Ko¯reti Hau Tonga, the Ma¯ori translation of Invercargill’s Oreti Beach, actually means ‘‘the bay that catches the south wind’’.
Anyone who sticks their nose out onto this 26km beach, 10 kilometres from Invercargill, will feel that breeze.
Brisk or not, it can’t help but bring people out, whatever the season.
It has been a playground for Southlanders and visitors since the Dunns Rd bridge opened in November, 1929.
Nga¯i Tahu kauma¯tua Michael Skerrett said that it was a walkway for Ma¯ ori to get to Riverton and you can still do this today, if the tide is right.
It has Southland’s most impressive example of sand dunes that work as a dynamic buffer between land and sea, being eroded and then built up again as part of natural physical processes.
It was a key location for the film The World’s Fastest Indian about motorcycling hero Burt Munro, and home to the world’s southern-most surf life saving club.
However, Oreti’s reputation as a coastal playground and highway for a myriad of speed-freaks and their machines ranging from Burt’s bikes to four-wheel-drives and wind-powered
Brisk or not, it can’t help but bring people out . . .
vehicles can be to its detriment.
Coastal erosion and climate cycles have an impact on the beach, but the Invercargill City Council says that it is people who have the potential to do the most damage through inconsiderate driving – vehicles ‘‘doing doughnuts’’ on the beach – litter and rubbish dumping, including burnt-out cars. All of these issues can increase during summer months.
Environment Southland compliance team leader Melissa Washbourne said during the 2016-2018 periods, the compliance team received 17 reports relating to beaches in Southland.
‘‘Rubbish being dumped on Oreti Beach is the most common complaint we receive, which is always disappointing. In these cases the rubbish is checked for any identifying information and if an offender can be identified and located, they can be charged for the recovery costs. However, in many situations, no offender is able to be identified and unfortunately the cost is then borne by the ratepayers.’’
It brought the council and community together in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the health and wellbeing of Oreti.
Signed in 2016, it enabled organisations to more effectively protect and manage the beach. These include the council, Environment Southland, the Department of Conservation, Southland District Council, Ministry of Primary Industries, New Zealand Police, and Waiho¯ pai Ru¯ naka.
This summer, the group has decided to put its focus into education and promotion of issues surrounding the beach.
Littering and disturbance of those unique sand dunes will be a key focus, but the group will also be encouraging people to be more aware of the toheroa beds.
For comprehensive information about the beach and useful hints and tips head to icc.govt.nz/oreti-beach-protect-respectand-enjoy.