Arsenic, asbestos found in Dunedin dunes

Please read the whole article on the Otago Daily Times Website here.

Mysterious sludge at beach years ago, Dunedin man recalls
From the ODT website By Chris Morris on Fri, 26 Nov 2010

Revelations the sand dunes at Dunedin's Middle beach are laced with traces of industrial chemicals have jogged memories of a mysterious white sludge for Dunedin man Wayne Campbell.

Mr Campbell (62) contacted the Otago Daily Times this week. after Dunedin City Council staff last week confirmed traces of arsenic, asbestos and other industrial chemicals had been found in the dunes.

The contamination of the seaward side of the dunes was believed to have come from old landfill buried under what is now Kettle Park, although council staff were awaiting more test results to determine the extent of the problem.

Mr Campbell said he could recall coming across a mysterious white substance while fossicking in the landfill as a young boy in the 1950s.

Please continue to read the whole article on the Otago Daily Times Website here.

Our Vege Garden - November 2010

This year is going to be the bumper year for as close as possible to self sufficiency in fruit and vegetables. And I'm really enjoying spending more time in the garden now I am not working. Especially since:

We now have a 4mx2.5m Morrifield Tunnel House!
I'm Stoked to say that the tunnel house is all up and running with 6 beefsteak tomato plants, 6 cherry tomato plants, 6 chilli plants, 6 mixed pepper plants, a cucumber, masses of rocket, fennel, and a seeded row of mixed basil. Below- all planted out:

Above: Jay worked extremely hard last week to dig out and build the foundations for the tunnel house. We got in two trailer loads of mulch and organic compost, which was mixed in by Dean from 'We Hoe You Grow'.. every year from the start of our new garden, Dean has come and mixed and mulched our soil to a fine till, making our job much easier, and saving Jay's back for more surfs.

Above: Dean Hoeing last week -

If you want some quality Hoeing magic in your Vege patch, Dean Mooyman can be contacted at: 021 2474633 or email wehoeyougrow@vodaphone.co.nz

Above left: my new herb garden Jay put together over the top of an old broken concrete pad with the Tunnel House in the background, and to the right the three raised garden beds, newly planted out. Above right: the fruit trees coming along, with the mixed vine berries, grapes and berry bushes along the fenceline. At the bottom of the garden the big black walnut, and the big old skool apple tree.

Arvo Surf

Auckland for Surfbreak

A couple of weeks ago I travelled to Auckland for the AGM of the Surfbreak Protection Society.
I was honoured to get voted back on the committee for my second year, and look forward to doing whatever I can for the organisation.
Pic to left taken after the meeting at the Auckland Law Courts building somewhere in the centre city.
Left to right: Geer Iseke, Paul Shanks, Nic Reeves, Mike Gunson, Monique Olivier, Allen Pidwell, John Shaw, missing David Storck and Scotty Grieve.
New Surfbreak Facebook Group I made a few days ago

Surfbreak Protection Society | Promote your Page too

Above:: Taking off from Dunedin airport flying low looking towards waldronville (middle circle), where I live, with Blackhead headland to the left circled, suburbs Fairfield in the foreground, Green Island to the right. Closer to the sea is the Refuse Transfer station at the head of the Kaikorai Estuary which leads out to the sea past Waldronville. I love where I live!
Next pic below is of the Kaikoras shrouded in clouds on the way up.

Above: A night shot of Auckland from the street. And then my short trip to flat Piha. Last photo at bottom is from the plane window taxiing along the runway at sunset.

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from the carpark

26th October 2010 - Windy As -
Below: Jimi popping out of a loong tube, fresh from indo

New Coastal Policy Statement released

Date: 28 October 2010
Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation

A new national policy statement will give councils clearer direction on protecting and managing New Zealand’s coastal environment, including our top surf breaks, says Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson.

“The Government made a commitment to deliver more national guidance on implementation of the Resource Management Act,” Ms Wilkinson says.

“The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS) 2010 that I’m recommending does that.”

The NZCPS sets out policies on coastal issues including protection of outstanding natural features and landscapes, planning for subdivision, use, and development, protection of biodiversity and water quality, and management of coastal hazard risks.

full article here

What are the nationally significant surf breaks and how were they chosen?

This policy attracted significant interest and the list was developed by the Board of Inquiry after taking submissions from national surfing organisations and individual surfers, as well as related environmental evidence. The surf breaks listed come from seven regions:

• Otago: The Spit, Karitane, Whareakeake (Murdering Bay), Papatowai;
• Kaikoura: Mangamaunu, Meatworks;
• Taranaki: Stent Road breaks, Waiwhakaiho;
• Gisborne: Makorori Point, Wainui breaks, The Island;
• Raglan: Manu Bay, Whale Bay, Indicators;
• Coromandel: Whangamata Bar;
• Northland: Peaks (Shipwreck Bay, Super tubes, Mukie 1&2).

Top marks to all the Surfing groups, individuals, clubs & orgs in NZ, especially the efforts of Surfbreak Protection Society getting this policy in the NZCPS - protecting some of New Zealands top surf breaks.

Labour Weekend Garden

Above, a Protea in our front garden.

Launching into another growing season, me and Jay are hoping to be as self producing as possible with fruit and vegetables this year. Pic Above is the garden at the beginning of the month, with soil turned over ready for planting out. Since then we have pricked out a pile of sprouted seeds into the furrows. New Trellis is up ready for the newly planted green beans, and the peas are in too,

Fruit trees are doing well, (above) and the berries are establishing themselves along the 3 tier espalier along the fence line.

We now have three strawberry Patches, and a good grove of Rhubarb plants. I think we have lost most of our asparagus plants which have been shooting for a few years, only two have sprouted so far.In the background of this photo (above) you can see I picked up some old low profile tyres at Mag and Turbo a few weeks ago, and Jay planted some spuds in them. Looking to get another 3 or 4 stacks going, two with Yams.

Readers Post - Yellow Eyed Penguin

My name is Keith and I have just moved to the Brighton area with my wife Alice. Im a pretty keen (yet spectacularly poor) surfer and have followed and enjoyed your blog with interest for sometime.

I was out for a run this evening and came across a yellow eyed penguin just south of Brighton. We have moved up here from Kaka Point so im used to seeing them and it was obvious this one wasnt well. With darkness approaching we decided to catch it (after getting the ok from DOC).

DOC ranger then came and collected it from our house. Fingers crossed it will do well.

Just thought you might be interested to hear our wee story.

Keith and Alice

Nationals to be Held In Dunedin Jan 2011

Article on the Otago Daily Times Website here

Surfscapes - Reviews - a success?

The exhibition was due to end today,

but has been extended until the 6th of November 2010

Exhibition Review
ODT Thursday 30th September 2010 - Arts Section

"Surfscapes" (Green Island Gallery)

Green Island Gallery's "Surfscapes" consists of work by eight local surfers who are also artists.

Several of the names are familiar, most notably Steev Peyroux and Ollie Crooks, but the work by the remaining artists is also worthy of note.

James Kerr's work is impressive, with its boldly impressionistic colours.

The sea seems to ripple in the mix of pinks and cyans which he weaves from his brush, as do the waves in two equally attractive bright works by Ollie Crooks.

More realistic are the warm vibrant tones of Nic Reeves' paintings, which depict stylised South Pacific seafronts, with foam breaking against symbol-heavy Polynesian coasts.

Darren Tautari's work is attractive, understated, and realistic.

He nicely depicts his recognisable street and beach scenes, often by picking a feature, most obviously in the simple, effective Gulls.

His work sits opposite two excellent large pieces by Steev Peyroux depicting folded blankets of hillside lapped by coastal waters or sitting nervously under sullen skies.

Street art, unsurprisingly, makes its influence known, most obviously in a series of works by Nathan Shaw, but also in the cartoon-like surfer image of Nathan Lungley.

The exhibition is completed by a series of miniature hand-float boards, shaped and decorated in fine humour by Jayin Tzu.

Saving Waves: Coastal planning and surf breaks

26th October 2010 at 6pm
Venue: Design Lecture Theatre, NICAI Conference Centre, 22 Symonds St, Auckland.
A lecture by Paul Shanks and Matt Skellern
Paul Shanks won the Ministry for the Environment Green Ribbon in 2006, for community leadership in Whangamata. Since then, Paul has taken a lead in saving New Zealand’s greatest surfing asset, its waves. From an international perspective, New Zealand is innovating in the ways it proposes to protect its world class surf breaks. Surfer and planner Matt Skellern contributes toward surf break protection alongside other surfers with backgrounds in planning, coastal science, oceanography, social science, law, economics along with perspectives from the surfing community and surfing industry.
Globally, surfers have been protesting the extinction of quality surf breaks for years. However, in December 2008, surf break protection was formalised through the World Heritage Surf Break movement based on the UNESCO model of World Heritage Sites. Following a similar trend, New Zealanders adopted the legal process to protect the world class surf breaks in Aotearoa.
Paul and Matt’s presentation aims to raise awareness of surf break protection at home and abroad, identifying potential issues for future ocean planning.

This Saving Waves lecture is kindly supported by the New Zealand Planning Institute and New Zealand Coastal Society.

Loopy Skidi

Quiet weekends, and little entertainment lately, our new guinea pig Skidi is providing the entertainment. We also remodelled their cage to include a pipe from the top floor off the verandah. Now Skidi does his mad running loops from the top floor down the tube to the back of the bottom floor, and back up the tube over and over and over. Laughter is the best remedy.

Happy Birthday Shane

Today is my sons' 24th birthday.
Happy Birthday Shane, was great to spend the afternoon with you.
Above: Shane shooting off a few while I was baiting up the hook.
Below, A few of Shane's surf shots.

Below again: Downsouth and Jay paddling out. In the foreground the fishing hollow.

Above left; Shane took a photo of my first fish I caught. By the end of the session, after some filming from the rocks too, I had caught three fish using my super secret bait method. I was so stoked its been about 25 years since I last rock fished at Brighton.
After downsouth left to drive back to ChCh, Jay stayed out and surfed with Beano, and I went home with Shane. Above right: the three fish in the laundry sink at home.
Later in the afternoon Jay prepared the fish and we wrapped in foil with butter and tarragon and bbq'd them. I made a spinach (from the garden) garlic and tomato treat to accompany it (Pic Below)

Above, the vista sitting outside eating the catch, looking out over the spring garden.
PS.. my mother saw this post and sent me a photo she took of me having just returned from one of my fishing trips in 1980 ( I was ten or 11). I had also just taken a photo of the fish with my own camera ( you can see it on the window ledge next to me).. so in 30 years nothing has changed! thanks for the pic mum.

Stolen Surfboard - Brighton Beach

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Local surfer Neds' daughter's surfboard went missing from the car park at the brighton (Dunedin) surf club today. He was surfing and she was playing on the beach with her mum and sister.

Ned would would like to think it wasn't stolen but it looks that way. He handmade the board mad for her, so it's kind of special to both of them. It's quite distinctive.

If you know of anything, hear anything, or even see it around,

please contact me via this blog