Date:    16/10/2022
River:    Avon River, Christchurch, NZ
River Conditions:   2.628 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny and warm, brisk NE winds.
Number on Trip:    1 person.
Time on River:  1.75 hours.
Comments:  I hadn’t been for a paddle for a while, poor weather at the weekend or too many things to do around home, so I was very happy to shoulder my kayak and head down to the river on such a beautiful day.

I decided to head downstream and was soon powering along, getting back into the rhythm of the river. There were plenty of ducklings around, including some big clutches of Paradise Shelducks, which was nice to see. Hopefully many of them will survive to adulthood.

I paddled down past the Gayhurst Road bridge and on under the Snell Place footbridge down to Kerrs Reach. There were quite a few whitebaiters along the river, though mainly around the areas with road access, as the council removed access to the gated Red Zone areas.

Earlier in the day I’d read a post about improvements around the Red Zone and someone was bemoaning the lack or poor condition of the various landings along the Red Zone stretch of the Avon, so I decided I would document the ones I passed. The one pictured above is just above Kerrs Reach and probably doesn’t get used much, if at all, and still is in its’ post-quake condition. Launching at Kerrs Reach is probably easier, unless an event is taking place around the rowing/kayaking clubs.

The photo above shows a river level view of the new Dallington Landing, just downstream of the Gayhurst Street bridge, and you can clearly see that there isn’t actually any landing suitable for launch a kayak and neither is there any place to park nearby if you were intending to put your kayak on the river here. This is more a toilet / picnic stop for cyclists or walkers, rather than a landing for river users.

The Wainoni Landing is looking a little dilapidated but seems to be mostly functional. It probably doesn’t see much use these days as it is in the Red Zone with no vehicle access to it anymore and nothing special to visit around it. This landing is just upstream of the Gayhurst Road bridge and on the opposite bank from the new Dallington Landing.

Paddling upstream was certainly harder than the downstream journey, possibly one of the advantages of paddling upstream to start with, the journey home is always easier. At one point I came across a lone duckling, I couldn’t spot its’ family, but I home it managed to find its’ way home. I paddled past the get out and on under the Swanns Road bridge, as I wanted to get a photo of the old Avonside Girls High School landing.

The school is now part of Linwood High and the landing is still serviceable, though a little tired looking. The landing is still in use, with a vehicle with roof racks parked near by and I suspect it belonged to a race boater that went past me on the river. Hopefully we’ll see some improvement in the on-river facilities in the coming year as the Avon River Corridor developments start happening.

From here, I turned downstream and headed for home for a well-earned shower and a tasty roast chicken dinner. I felt pretty worn out having not paddled for a while, but it was a great way to round off the weekend.