Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
What a full-on week of rain. Not sure about you but I was glad to see the back of it. The horror of the 2015 floods came gushing back on Friday as the low-lying streets around South Dunedin started to flood again. At one point I went around to Second Beach to see a slip that had fallen onto the track in the same place where one had previously. While there I could see 2-3 waterfalls cascading down the cliff face, streaming across the track and pouring into the ocean on the far side of the bay. It was something you might expect to find in Fiordland.
While I was watching I heard a cracking noise in the bushes above where I stood on the track. Why would someone be gardening in this rain? I was puzzled. I stood a bit further back thanks to fireman Sam's suggestion. And then I saw a whole patch of bush slide a metre or more. Then more cracking, the bushes shuffled and wham ... the whole bank slid off onto the track right in front of us.
Watching residents frantically sandbagging garages and driveways, and trying to unblock drains is an emotional wringer. The rain just kept on coming, the torrents never backed off. But even with this load, the system kind of worked – apart from some terrible slips and the houses that were breached – it certainly could have been a lot worse. Well done to all those who worked around the clock to help bring that result around.
One casualty of the rainfall was the opening of the Lawyer's Head sewage outlet. This dumps semi-treated sewage directly into the ocean. That part is not good, but, as I understand it, it takes the pressure off the system and brings some reprieve for the South Dunedin homes in the flood zones. A necessary evil perhaps. That meant the water quality at our beaches on Friday and Saturday would have most likely been dangerous to swim or surf in. Apparently, DCC closed the beaches, but nobody got that memo or saw the signs they insisted were erected for the occasion. The water testing tells us what the quality of the water was like yesterday – so dubiously useful.
The ambivalence of it all had one contest director tied in knots. Dan Westerkamp is in charge of the 100 or so of New Zealand's best secondary school surfers who are here this week for the National Scholastics Surfing Championships. His decision to send the contestants out into the potentially Campylobacteriosis and E. coli-seasoned faecal soup of St Clair Beach was never going to be easy. Thankfully, around 9pm the night before the contest, while Dan was juggling cancelled flights courtesy of Air New Zealand, he got the call with the all-important all-clear. It was a huge relief for the whole city – especially the surfers and their families this week.
The Scholastics runs all this week at St Clair, so pop down and check out the action and give the local kids your support.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Today is the day our new book, New Zealand's Best Gourmet Pies, hits the shelves. They are available at all good bookstores and those cool designer shops that sell dreamy coffee-table books like this one. You can also order a copy directly from us here. Feedback has been amazing so far ... add this one to your Xmas wish list.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: