Monthly Archives: December 2023

31st December 2023: Avon River (Ōtākaro)

Date:    31/12/2023
River:    Avon River, Christchurch, NZ
River Conditions:   2.212 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny and warm, still to increasingly strong NW winds.
Number on Trip:    1 person.
Time on River:  1.5 hours.
Comments:  It was a beautiful warm and still morning, with the promise of a weather change in the afternoon, so going for a paddle seemed a perfect way to close the year. I grabbed my kayak and gear, slapping on some sunscreen so that I wouldn’t get burnt like last time and headed over to our empty home (currently a build site due to earthquake repairs). I got changed and then realised I hadn’t picked up my bootees. Fortunately, there was an old pair of crocs (knock offs) in the garden shed, so I didn’t need to wander down to the river barefoot.

Swanns Road jetty on a calm summer morning.

The river was glassy smooth, without a hint of wind when I put on, but the wind gradually picked up as I paddled upstream. The river was nice and cool, making a change from the scorching temperatures (around 30 degrees) we’d had the previous couple of days.

Can you spot the flounder?

The water was relatively clear and I spotted a reasonable sized flounder near the Swanns Road bridge (slightly left of centre in the above photo). I think they head upstream when the tide is in, as the water must become a little brackish.

The Red Zone, with the Stanmore Road bridge in the distance.

It was, as always, nice to be back on the river and I let being surrounded by nature refresh me, the greenery of the Red Zone and the sparkling reflections on the water surface.

A gaggle of geese or a gang of cobra chickens.

It is always nice to see the variety of bird life on the river, though there is definitely an abundance of Canada geese.

A family of Paradise Shelducks beneath willow tree.

Seeing paradise shelducks with their young is always good, though some pairs are definitely more successful than others and it can be a little sad to see families with only one or two ducklings left, out of a half dozen or more.

Paddling upstream, beside Fitzgerald Avenue.

Up round the Avon Loop and past the Barbadoes Street cemetery is always very picturesque with it’s banks lined with trailing willows, native flaxes and cabbage trees.

Paddling around the Avon Loop, past the Barbadoes Street Cemetery.

I stopped at the outflow for St Mary’s stream, where it flows out of its historic barrel drain. The stream flows underground from its’ source spring in Merivale near Church Lane.

St Mary’s Stream flowing into the Avon.

I paddled all the way up to our old neighbourhood, the “Fire Station rapids” halting my upstream progress, and then turned to allow the current to take me home.

Paddling around the Avon Loop.

More photos around the Barbadoes Street cemetery, as the swifter current flowing through the narrower channel carried me past the flowering flaxes on the river bank.

Floating past the Barbadoes Street cemetery.

This really is a beautiful get away in the heart of the city, what could be better on a lovely, sunny day.

A self-portrait taken from underwater.

I had a play around at taking photos underwater, to capture the interplay of the rippling light and green river weed on the pebble covered river bed. As well as taking a novel self-portrait from the possible perspective of a fish.

An underwater shot of the gravel river bed.

The Bangor Street No. 3 Pumphouse was the city’s third pumping station. It was built in 1907 to assist in the further extension of the sewage system into the more populous suburban areas of Merivale, Addington, Sydenham, Linwood and Richmond. The pumphouse was designed to fit into its suburban residential environment and thus the circular holding tanks and much of the pump mechanism, which contained almost entirely underground, were screened by an ornamental pavilion, something quite different from many of the utilitarian structures of today..

The Avon Loop pump station.

On the other side of the river from the pump house, is one of our favourite houses in Christchurch, and certainly one of the few to survive the earthquakes.

One of our favourite houses, and one of the few that survived the quakes.

Further down I spotted something odd in the water, not the usual collection of road cones, supermarket trolley or bicycle. On closer inspection, it turned out to be an open umbrella, already partially covered with bright green algae.

A submerged umbrella, not something you see everyday.

Pump House No. 4 on River Road is another architectural throwback from a bygone age when style mattered, even for sewerage pumping stations. Still working today, it provides a picturesque feature to the Red Zone and Avon River precinct.

Another Red Zone pump station.

Swanns Road bridge appears, signifying we are almost home.

Swanns Road bridge and home beckons.

The last stretch before climbing up the bank and heading back to our empty home. A quick change, crocs back in the shed, kayak back on the car and then back to our temporary accommodation for lunch.

Almost home, just downstream of the Swanns Road bridge, adjacent to the Richmond Community Gardens.

3rd December 2023: Avon River (Ōtākaro)

Date:    3/12/2023
River:    Avon River, Christchurch, NZ
River Conditions:   2.025 cumecs at Gloucester Street bridge. Water clear. Grade 1.
Weather Conditions:   Sunny and warm, strong NW winds.
Number on Trip:    1 person.
Time on River:  1.5 hours.
Comments:  I haven’t been out for a paddle for a quite sometime, being out of our house and the ongoing stress surround our earthquake repairs have been consuming a lot of my spare time. I was considering heading up to the Hurunui with the Canterbury Whitewater Club but the weather was wasn’t looking good, with heavy rain predicted about the main divide, and I didn’t want my first club trip in over 2 years, to be a miserable affair. On the plus side, the nor-westerly winds dumping rain in the mountains meant high temperatures in Christchurch, so I took the opportunity to head down to the Avon with the Blitz.

Preparing to seal launch in to the cool waters of the Avon on a hot day.

I parked up at our empty home, got changed and carried my kayak through the community garden and down to the river, seal launching off the bank into the cool green waters. It felt good to be back on the water and I was soon paddling strongly down stream through the Red Zone.

Native vegetation along the Red Zone river bank.

I always enjoy paddling through the Red Zone, the peace and quiet, surrounded by nature, it is really relaxing. So it was a bit of a surprise to come across the scene pictured below. I heard their cursing, before I saw them, with their quad bike, trailer and motor powered inflatable bogged by the river’s edge. Interesting I thought, since unauthourised motor vehicles are banned from the Red Zone and power boats are not allowed on the Avon. I took a photo of the spectacle, and without me saying a word, I was abused as “a grumpy old man” and worse. They followed up the abuse by throwing sticks & stones, which fortunately missed or it would have become a Police matter.

This bunch of young idiots managed to get their quad bike & trailer bogged whilst riding illegally around the Red Zone.

These are probably the same young dickheads that are frequently the subject of complaints on the RADS Facebook page, for racing around the Red Zone and abusing people. I imagine they’ll learn about consequences at some stage in the future when they find themselves in jail, or die in a car wreck, or at the hands of someone they abuse, the young & stupid “free pass” only lasts so long, before consequences get real. Laughing at their stupidity, I paddled on and left them in my wake.

Paddling through the Red Zone.

The peace and calm soon returned as I paddled on, the Red Zone making me feel like I was out in the countryside. A group of large waka ama passed me, heading upstream at the same time as the group of idiots from earlier drove past shouting more abuse, having managed to get themselves unstuck. Charming. I gave them a cheery wave and hoped that was the last I’d see of them.

New Zealand scaups with chicks. The rest of the family is underwater.

There were a lot of ducklings on the river, especial scaups, a type of New Zealand diving duck. It was cute to watch them as often the whole family would disappear underwater for a while, even the tiny ducklings, and then they would bob to the surface one at a time.

I carried on down to Kerrs Reach, where there was a bit of rowing activity going on, and then turned for home. Paddling into the strong headwind was hard going and certainly got my pulse rate up.

A group of four large waka ama powering down the Avon near the Snell Place bridge.

Just before the Snell Place foot bridge, I spotted the four waka ama powering back downstream towards me, so I pulled over to be out of their way and to catch some photographs. Definitely a great day to be out on the river and I was able to forward the photographs to some of the paddlers via a work mate.

A shag takes flight.

One of the bonuses of being on the river, is seeing all the bird life that call it home. I watched this shag diving for fish, though he didn’t appreciate it when I got too close in order to take a photograph. Hopefully he had more success than the guy fishing near the bridge.

Paradise shelducks.

There were also a number of Paradise Shelduck pairs spaced out along the bank (they tend to be very territorial and will drive off other pairs quite aggressively if they get too close), some even had fluffy ducklings. Seeing them always reminds us of Greta and makes us feel sad that she never got to raise her own family of funny, fluffy ducklings.

The Dallington Landing.

With the strong headwinds, you certainly appreciate the way the river meanders, so you aren’t always battling into the wind. The Dallington Landing looked quite magnificent in the sunlight, but there was no stopping to explore as home beckoned.

Flax flowers overhanging the Avon.

Paused to photograph some beautifully coloured flax flowers overhanging the river, only to realise after taking a number of shots that I had water spots on the camera lens. Cleaned the lens as best I could and took a couple more pictures, which seemed to work.

Looking down stream through the Red Zone towards the Port Hills.

I paddled on, battling the winds and lack of fitness, turning occasionally to admire the scenery and checking to make sure I wasn’t missing any great shots. I paddled this stretch quite a few times, and take many very similar shots, but each time the seasons, sky and light will be different, sometimes making for a better picture.

I finally reached my starting point, paddling just a little bit further to the Swanns Road bridge to complete the journey, and then back down to clamber out where I had put in. With my Blitz on my shoulder, I walked back to our house, put the kayak on the car, and had a quick cold shower (we had turned the hot water off while the renovations are in progress) before dressing and returning to our temporary accommodation for a well earned rest. It was a good outing and so nice to be back on the river. I’m looking forward to getting back home and being just a short walk from the Red Zone again.