Quail Island overnight hut opens
For the first time people can now stay overnight on Quail Island in the middle of Lyttelton Harbour.
The island has long been a popular destination for daytrippers. Now people can bunk down overnight at the former leper colony after the historic caretaker’s cottage was transformed into a 12-bunk tramping hut.
O¯ tamahua hut, managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and opened by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage on Saturday, was built in 1910 by prisoners from the Lyttelton Jail and was used as a caretaker’s cottage until the early 1980s.
Sage said the O¯ tamahua hut was a fantastic new asset that would for the first time enable people to stay overnight on the island, just a 10-minute ferry ride from Lyttelton.
‘‘DOC’s aim is to get more Christchurch families and especially children, out to enjoy the island and experience staying in a DOC hut.’’
Department of Conservation (DOC) operations manager Andy Thompson said the project had cost $75,000 and was jointly funded by DOC and the Rod Donald Trust with the Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust donating architectural services.
Thompson said he hoped the hut would be visited by Christchurch and Canterbury locals who may never have experienced Quail Island before.
Simon Mortlock, of the Rod Donald Trust, said investing in the project had been a nobrainer given the island’s importance to Canterbury’s landscape and history.
‘‘The peninsula is a real treasure, so we knew we wanted to contribute to allowing
Otamahua ¯ Hut bookings can be made through the DOC website. Kātoitoi, a small bird with a big voice. more people to see it. We think projects like this can make a real difference’’.
Quail Island was used by Ma¯ ori as a base for mahinga kai or food gathering and farmed from the 1850s before it became a recreation reserve in the 1970s. The island was used as a quarantine station for animals and people and was the site of New Zealand’s only leprosy quarantine colony. Christchurch’s central-city Margaret Mahy Playground has won the Resene Kiwi’s Choice award for best public spot in New Zealand. Judges said it was a ‘‘place of colour, noise and laughter’’ among the demolition, roadworks and building sites. The news will come as no surprise to the hoards of children and parents who occupy the largest playground in the southern hemisphere. ‘‘Equipped with disability-friendly equipment and a special sandpit area, the playground has become an iconic destination spot in Christchurch, loved and used by all age groups,’’ judges said.
Explore
From this Thursday, head to the Arts Centre for the Necessary Traditions festival. More than 40 craftspeople will be showcasing their unique talents in shows and workshops until November 7. Organiser Juliet Arnott said the festival was ‘‘reinvigorating the way craft is viewed in our society, that it is seen as necessary for a healthy future, both in terms of our wellbeing and the health of the ecosystems we rely upon’’.