Storms erode ‘saved’ sandspit
The beach that New Zealand bought has been under attack from the elements, reports Sara Meij.
NEARLY 40,000 Kiwis pledged $2.28 million to save Awaroa beach – but nature’s not playing ball and has taken a serious chunk out of the investment.
Recent storms have taken a 50 to 100m bite out of the beach New Zealand bought and drastically altered the landscape around Abel Tasman landmark.
Takaka operations manager Andrew Lamason said a storm surge had erased a chunk off the end of the Awaroa beach sandspit and excyclone Fehi’s wrath last week resulted in waves crashing on to the beach at high tide, overtopping it and washing out kanuka bushes.
‘‘The storm altered the shape of the beach entrance to the estuary, and the shape of the spit has also been affected.’’
Baches at the settlement in the Awaroa estuary also lost around two to three metres of their frontage in the storm, Lamason said.
In January 2016, Christchurch men Duane Major and Adam Gard’ner launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy the beach for all New Zealanders to enjoy.
Gard’ner said the recent changes to the beach shape didn’t deflect from the connection Kiwis forged with the area when they bought the beach.
‘‘I’m not worried, it’s partly to be expected. Things can change and evolve, we have to go with that as well, it doesn’t change the importance that we put on that piece of coastline.’’
Wilsons Abel Tasman CEO Darryl Wilson owns the Meadowbank Homestead on the Awaroa settlement, close to where the sand had receded.
He said via the webcam installed on their property facing the sea, he could see on a live stream that the Awaroa beach had lost about 50 to 100 metres of sand off the end of it.
Wilson is optimistic the beach will recover.
‘‘Ten years ago approximately three quarters of what we just bought was washed away.
‘‘It rebuilt naturally to what it was when the nation bought it. In the fullness of time it’ll sort itself out to be what it deems appropriate for the river flows and sea action.’’ Wilson said he hadn’t been out to the lodge since the latest storm, but was told his property was fine, although the retaining wall in front of it received some damage.
Meadowbank Homestead is the only property of the settlement with a sea wall in front of it, which Wilson had built ten years ago.
‘‘But we didn’t actually lose more of the bank in front of us because the wall took the impact.’’
However on adjacent properties the storm hit the reserve and four metre high bank, of which part eroded and dropped away.
Wilson said the bank had eroded before, which is why they were forced to build the sea wall on Tasman District Council sand reserve land below.
‘‘There have been and there will be conversations about how to reduce erosion of that reserve strip.’’
He said as a consequence of having less beach to act as a barrier against sea storms, some of the properties in the settlement would be more impacted by northerly type storm waves crashing into the estuary.
‘‘There’s certainly no danger to property as such it’s just how much of that four metre high bank do you let erode, it’s a buffer between private land and the sea.’’
Wilson said once the private land started to be affected people would have the chance to ‘‘actively start protecting’’ their land. ‘‘But I think it’s probably appropriate to be a wee bit preemptive as we were and protect the public reserve before it goes. You’ll never get it back again.’’