Date: 16/01/2022 River: Avon River, Christchurch, NZ River Conditions: 2.718 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1. Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm, strong nor-east winds. Number on Trip: 1 person. Time on River: 1.75 hours. Comments: The weekend weather had been beautiful and while I couldn’t head off to the Hurunui with the club, I could still clock some outdoor time on the mighty Avon. Lauri was worn out from yesterdays cat walk, when Peri spent some time with Barry, a young male cat, relatively new to the neighbourhood and very keen to play. So while Lauri slept, I shouldered the Blitz and trotted down to river.
The tide was in and I launched straight off the bank into the river, before paddling off downstream. There was a strong wind blowing from the coast, providing a bit of resistance and kicking up a bit of chop on the waters’ surface. It was nice to be back on the river and to be able to actually do some exercise in an enjoyable manner.
The new Medway Footbridge, almost completed.
There has been a little bit more progress on the Medway Footbridge, with the access ramps almost completed, so hopefully the bridge will be open soon.
The Red Zone looking green & inviting.
I powered on downstream, allowing the stress & worry to melt away in the beautiful surroundings. I had the river mostly to myself, except of the various water fowl that call the river home. Below the Gayhurst Road Bridge, work is continuing on the Dallington Landing area and a start has been made on the Snell Footbridge. I carried on down to Kerrs Reach before turning about and heading back home. The outflowing tide made upstream progress a little more difficult.
Paddlers pass the large crane at the Snell Footbridge site.
I followed a group of adults & children, enjoying an outing on the river in kayaks, back up to the Gayhurst Bridge before overtaking them and continuing on alone. It is always nice to see young people enjoying exploring the natural places in the city.
The underside of the Medway footbridge.
I paused briefly under the Medway Footbridge, contemplating getting out and re-crossing the bridge again, but in the end I decided not to and continued my paddle home. I passed the get out and carried on up to the Swanns Road bridge to see if I could see the “Rev”, a large Muscovy / mallard cross duck, who lives in the area and we feed occasionally. Spotted him hiding in the trees by the south bank, with a posse of female mallards, so that was good. We were worried he might have been “rescued” (abducted) and there has recently been a number of ducks killed by unrestrained dogs.
After going under the bridge, I paddled back down to the get out and clambered up the bank, shouldered my kayak and walked home for a shower & a rest, with a well deserved cup of tea.
Date: 4/01/2022 River: Avon River, Christchurch, NZ River Conditions: 2.082 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1. Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm, nor-west winds. Number on Trip: 2 people. Time on River: 2.75 hours. Comments: I’d wanted to take Lauri for a trip down this section of the Avon for a while now, but with her lack of energy made it difficult to plan. I had suggested doing it the day before but she didn’t feel up to it and so I instead planned to paddle from the UC Staff Club in Ilam, all the way home. It would have been along trip but I’ve been keen to document the journey in more detail than I did when I paddled from the University to our place in Peterborough Street in the late 90’s.
The day was sunny and warm, and as I was outlining my plans for the day, Lauri looked a little disappointed and said that she was feeling ok & would be able to go for a paddle. So we soon made sandwiches for two, sorted out paddling gear and got the boats loaded on the car for the drive to the put in at the Botanical Gardens. When we drove in to the Armagh Street entrance to Hagley Park, we soon realised that got to the park was extremely popular today and finding a park might be a little tricky. As we neared the end of the road in, not having spotted a free park, I noticed most of the cars in the queue were driving in, then turning around and driving out. So I pulled in behind a car parked at the edge of the road (not actually in a proper park) to unload Lauri & the gear before finding a better place to park. Some loudmouth with his awful taste in music blaring repeatedly shouted his appreciation for my parking, but since we were merely stopping whilst unloading, with no intention to actually park in that location, he could get…
After we’d finished unloading, a car pulled out of our bay and we quickly drove in to the empty parking spot, so things worked out well. From there, we hauled the kayaks to the river and I launched Lauri into the river before following behind her.
The start of the journey in Hagley Park.
The section through Hagley Park is quite beautiful, though it did get a little crowded at time, with plenty of people taking advantage of the rental boats at the Antigua Boatsheds. Still on such a beautiful day, what could be better than messing about in boats on such an idyllic river.
Fighting through the crowds in the hire boats.
It was amusing at times, as many of those in the rental kayaks were novices and steering was not their strong point. This did make Lauri feel a lot more confident about her own paddling ability.
Punting on the Avon through the Botanical Gardens.
It was nice to see the punts in action, especially since the pandemic has put a halt to international tourism. It is good that kiwis are taking the opportunity to experience some of the attractions their country offers.
Spotting eels at the Antigua Street boat sheds.
We stopped briefly at the Antigua Boatshed to see the eels which congregate there, hiding under the boardwalks and only emerging when they sense food or fingers in the water. There are some quite big (old) ones there and some of them have been given names by the punters. Past this point river traffic thins out considerably as you aren’t allowed to take the hire boats downstream.
Enjoying lunch on one of the central city river islands.
We paddled past the earthquake memorial wall and then stopped to eat our sandwiches on one of the small islands in the middle of the river. Generally only ducks and possibly drunks visit the islands, so this made an interesting stop.
The Bridge of Rememberance.
After lunch, we relaunched our kayaks and carried on down stream, under the Bridge of Remembrance and past The Terrace. We wanted to see if we could spot any eels here, but there was a swan family with a couple of almost fully grown signets, on the steps and we didn’t want to get too close in case they found it threatening. I did see a large trout, but it flashed away pretty quickly.
Under a bridge, past the waterwheel island and onwards downstream.
Paddling through the city is always interesting, as you get to view the city from a different perspective and it is great for social distancing during a pandemic.
Passing the Gormley statue in the Avon, the recently opened Te Pae convention centre in the background.
We said hello to Gormley’s Stay sculpture in passing, before checking out the new convention centre from the river. Looks pretty good from a distance and it will be interesting to visit when the pandemic has past.
Enjoying a Charlies’ ice cream sundae on a hot summer day.
At Victoria Square, we stopped and I wander off to pick up ice cream sundaes (vanilla icies) from Ice Cream Charlies as a treat. We generally can’t go past Victoria Square without partaking of this traditional indulgence, especially on a hot day. There was a bit of a wait as they were quite busy, but it was worth it.
Pulling a waka upstream near Victoria Square.
While we were enjoying our sundaes, we were surprised to spot this waka coming up the river. This section is fairly swift and shallow, so is quite hard to paddle upstream, but I guess if people are happy to get out and push, it makes it easier.
Christchurch’s Ferrier Fountain restored to its’ former glory at the Town Hall.
After we completed our treats, it was back downstream again, past the iconic fountain at the Town Hall, which was running again after being out of action for a long time after the earthquakes.
The new central city footbridge over the Avon.
We got to check out the underside of the new footbridge that had been recently completed. I look forward to exploring a lot of the new developments that have happen around the city, but at the moment avoiding crowds of potential virus carriers seems more of a priority.
A waka parks at the recently refurbished band rotunda.
It was good to see the recently restored band rotunda and while we were admiring it, the waka came paddling back downstream towards us, which was pretty cool to see. If you are interested in trying out this experience, booking can be made through Waka on Avon.
Paddling between the poplars, past the Margaret Mahy Playground.
At the poplars, the distance was starting to tell on Lauri but she kept on going as we moved through what was our old neighbourhood. We paused briefly at the eastern end of Peterborough Street, to remember our old cat, Agnesi, who is buried on the river bank there. She was an awesome companion and always has a place in our hearts. She is still very missed even though she has been gone for around 15 years.
Clear water & the vivid greens of nature.
Paddling past the cemetery and round the Avon Loop is just like being out in the countryside. We used to enjoy walking around this area when we lived in the neighbourhood, and often thought we’d like to live overlooking the Avon in the Loop. Sadly the earthquakes wiped out all the lovely little cottages & villas, so that dream ended, but it is still a pleasant green space now for everyone to enjoy.
Paddling by the cemetery, you could almost believe you are in the countryside, instead of the central city.
One of the houses that did survive the earthquakes, that we always loved & dreamed of buying, was the house pictured below on Cambridge Terrace. This two storied house from the 1900’s, with it’s turret, balconies and river outlook would make for a lovely, quite “rural” lifestyle in the central city, there is evening a tyre swing by the river now.
One of our favourite houses in the background and a tyre swing by the river.
From here, home beckoned and there was no stopping for a beer & pork crackling at Pomeroys. Lauri was getting pretty tired as we worked our way through the Red Zone, but still had enough energy to make sure she “won”, by reaching the jetty first.
Almost home, Lauri leads the way.
I helped Lauri out of her boat and loaded her kayak on her little trolley, but tired as she was, she was still happy to tow it home. Once we got home, it was time for a well earned rest for Lauri, while I cycled back to Hagley Park to pick up the car. We did pick up a few tasty pastries from the Japanz Bakery for afternoon tea on the way home to help recover our strength.
