Salisbury Bridge as we knew it before the floods December 18 2011
Over the last week Golden Bay has been subjected to the worst floods in 150 years - this on top of the December 28 floods last year. This time the Western part of the Bay was not badly affected, with the Aorere River peaking at a level considerably lower, and the river not changing its course - the remediation work done during the year seems to have done its job. The road between Takaka and Collingwood was closed for several days, due to a washout at Birds Hill (just past the turnoff to Pupu Springs as you go towards Collingwood), but it was opened briefly yesterday and fully today. There is a short 1-way system for traffic, controlled by lights, so allow 10 minutes' extra time for travel. At Twin Waters Lodge we are in good shape with no damage at all, and the water tanks are all full. Roll on summer!
October 21 2011
Today we open for the new season. We have recently returned from our own holiday - in the Cook Islands, where we experienced some great hospitality and got some new ideas to offer at Twin Waters Lodge. This season will be our first offering a self-catering option for guests. This is a budget alternative where guests can get their own breakfast, and use the small kitchen off the guest lounge to prepare meals - see my previous post for more details. Of course we still offer our full service package for those that want it.
Our news has been dominated by two things - the Rugby World Cup and the ship that has run aground at Tauranga. The latter has caused significant ecological damage on the Bay of Plenty coasline, but to put it in proportion, the spill is very small compared with past marine disasters throughout the world, and good progress is being made pumping the remaining fuel out of the ship. Happily, Golden Bay is far away from this event and will not be affected by the current spill or any further spillage.
July 26 2011
Yesterday winter truly struck. We awoke to a dusting of snow on the hills just across the estuary. Puddles were frozen over and there was a layer of frost in most lower places. Today it is frosty, but with brilliant sunshine and bracing air.
This has made us start thinking about summer - and the reopening of Twin Waters Lodge. This year we will open on October 21, the Friday of Labour weekend. We have just announced our new "self service" option. Guests have in the past requested a degree of self-catering, and we are pleased to offer this for the forthcoming season on a trial basis. Rooms will have basic cutlery and crockery, and limited kitchen facilities are available in the kitchenette off the guest lounge. We will be insalling a microwave oven there before the season begins. Refrigerators in guest rooms will be cleared of minibar contents so guests can use them for their own food.
We look forward to seeing you this summer.
March 9 2011
Last weekend as I was cycling in to Collingwood, I startled a bird feeding in the drain near the Aorere bridge. I was unable to identify it, other than as a heron with a short neck - some kind of night-heron. I am now reasonably sure, after considerable research, that what I saw was the juvenile form of the Nankeen night-heron. This bird is self-introduced from Australia and the adult plumage is spectacular. The juvenile is a mottled brown, and it has large yellow eyes. For a photo of this bird see: http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Oceania/Australia/photo179462.htm
I don't know what happened to my blogs from January and February - it appears there has been a problem uploading tham and they have vanished into cyberspace. To recap: At the end of December we had the biggest floods on the Aorere river for more than 150 years. This resulted in the river changing course and considerable damage to a number of houses, some of which now sit empty. Two bridges were washed away, one of which was the historic Salisbury bridge - shown below. We at Twin Waters Lodge were largely unaffected apart from roads being blocked by flooding for several hours, and people unable to leave.
We have been unaffected by either of the Christchurch earthquakes - Christchurch is hundreds of kilometres distant and we didn't even feel the shakes. Nevertheless, we all know someone who has been affected and our hearts go out to the people of Christchurch.
Salisbury Bridge as we knew it before the floods
December 3 2010
Stop Press! Trish has just seen 2 banded rails in the inlet beside Twin Waters Lodge. These birds are relatively rare in NZ, and our inlet is the only place in the South Island where they have been seen. We see them maybe once or twice a year, as they are a very fugitive species.
Summer has come early to Twin Waters Lodge. Following a cold winter, we now have had warm dry weather for a couple of weeks. The season started early this year, with first guests on 1 October, and we have had a couple of larger groups (7-8 people) staying here bfore walking the Heaphy Track. Twin Waters Lodge is a great place as a base before tackling the Heaphy - or as a rest and reward after completing it, if coming from the Southern end. We can work in with transport agencies to pick up or deliver trampers to the Takaka areodrome, to the Collingwood bus stop or to Brown Hut, as required - just let us know what you need. Our preferred option when we walk the Heaphy is to leave from the Brown Hut end and walk through to the Karamea end, then fly back to the Takaka aerodrome with one of the local operators. Below are a couple of photos I took when walking the Heaphy about 2 years ago.
August 10 2010
It is now the depths of winter at Twin Waters. To be fair, it has been a mild winter this time, but we are off to warmer climes for a few weeks. Please excuse any tardy responses to emails: we may not have access to email all the time we are away. We will return in just over a month and be ready to open up for October 1, and look forward to meeting new friends in the new season.
July 10 2010
Mid winter has passed and we head into a new summer. We have had a week of cold clear days. Large number of pied shags have taken up residence in Golden Bay and there is concern whether the local fish population is enough to feed them. A small group is resident on our beach. As winter passes we start gearing up for the new season. This year we will be opening from October 1 due to demand.
May 9 2010
The days are shorter and the weather cooler: winter is upon us. Twin Waters Lodge is now closed for winter (although we will take special bookings if we are here - phone us to ask). We open again at Labour weekend, on Friday October 22.
We took some time off last week to go fishing, based at nearby Totaranui, and hour's drive away in the middle of Abel Tasman National Park. Fishing off Separation Point was good, with some large blue cod being caught (limit 3 per person), as well as some small sharks and a couple of kahawai. A highlight of the fishing was a visit from an albatross, tentatively identified as a Salvin's albatross from its grey head and neck and yellow bill with a narrow black stripe. This was taken by our friend Smithy, whose boat we were using.
March 12 2010
Last night we had some very welcome rain - after quite a dry spell. Fine and sunny by morning. Life at the Lodge is slowing down a bit as the summer rush subsides. Concerns over the effect of the Chile earthquake in Golden Bay turned out to be groundless. Despite it being a spring tide, and the tidal wave being due at about high tide, no discernable effects were seen. This is largely because Golden Bay is sheltered by land mass on all sides. The Bay itself is 3/4 of a circle, and the opening faces the West coast of the lower North Island. We now look forward to Easter.
February 27 2010
Yesterday we went to Wharariki Beach agin with friends from Canada. I am always impressed with this beach - the relaxing walk across the farmland to reach the beach and the dramatic scenery when we get there... and of course the seals. We counted no fewer than 12 seal pups and several adults. The seals seem quite unafraid of humans and as long as people continue to respect them, there is no reason why this should not continue. I attach a photo Trish took of a couple of seal pups while we are visiting.
February 13 2010
Great news! Twin Waters Lodge had been awarded Qualmark Enviro Silver status in recognition of our attempts to run a sustainable business with a light footprint on the land. These awards are hard-won - you have to be recommended by an assessor to even apply for an enviro rating.
Today it is raining - quite heavily. Not good for tourists but very necessary as the ground had got very dried out, and stress on our plants has been compounded by high seas at the beginning of the month that dumped salt in the soil. The rain is washing away the salt, washing the dust off the plants and generally freshening ands greening everything. This will make for beautiful scenery when the rain goes away.
The scalloping season finishes tomorrow, so our seaward attention will turn to fishing. The brim (a type of snapper) and kahawai (a marine trout-like fish) are beckoning.
January 24 2010
I had expected to get an update much sooner, but was confronted with a computer meltdown over the New Year period. It has been a very busy season so far, with a relatively low number of advance bookings, but many late bookings and arrivals. We would advise prospective guests to book early, as we have had to turn quite a few away and decline late booking requests. After a rather windy and damp Xmas period, the weather has mostly been settled, with some glorious hot days. Scalloping has been good, with limit catches the norm and large shellfish. The snapper are also biting!
Our local resident white heron (see photos below) has been very much in evidence, having returned from the mating grounds earlier than most. Seal pups have been regularly seen at Wharariki Beach, and the scenery there is as glorious as ever. Lately we have seen and heard the young of Tuis, Bellbirds and California Quail. Of course the adults are very much in evidence as always.
November 13 2009
Twin Waters Lodge is now open for the 2009-2010 season. Spring is well advanced, and we have had some lovely sunny days. The scallop season is open and we have been out a couple of times and returned with limit catches of nice big juicy scallops. The local birdlife is abundant, with lots of tuis and bellbirds to be seen and heard, native pigeons to be seen, and the grey warbler during the day and the morepork at night to be heard but not seen. The shorebirds are here in abundance, too, although the kotuku (white herons) have recently departed for their breeding grounds at Okarito. The cabbage trees (Cordyline australis) are flowering abundantly. This is traditionally taken as the harbinger of a long hot summer. Below is a photo Trish took of a keruru (native pigeon) at the Lodge.
July 18 2009
Twin Waters Lodge is now closed for winter - re-opening in October. It has been really cold the last two weeks, with ice on the bird-bath one day last week. Cold nights are often followed by beautiful clear days. Today was such a day, and a chance to do some grounds maintenance at the Lodge. The views of the Arthur Range with snow on the tops is spectacular - they can be seen from the deck by the guest lounge, but a more spectacular view can be had by walking 2 minutes to the beach.
I will write again in October.
April 11 2009
Starting with best intentions, I seem to have lagged in keeping this up-to-date. March has been a surprise, with a much greater number of guests than previous years. The weather has been generally good, and the extended daylight saving time (which has just ended) has made for long pleasant evenings. Trish has recently been walking up on the hills across the inlet, and has taken some nice photos looking down on the Lodge:
The royal spoonbills have returned to the Collingwood estuary, with a flock of more than 20 there.
February 25 2009
Over the last two weeks we have had about 200 mm of rain. It can stop now! Fortunately, much of the rain has been in short intensive bursts, with many fine days between. The countryside is now green and lush.
Earlier this week, we drove down the Whanganui Inlet. The road begins at Pakawau, just a few km from Twin Waters, and winds down past the Inlet (New Zealand's second largest inlet, and a marine reserve), and thence to the West Coast. On the way, we stopped at The Nugget, a delightful little cafe on a hill beside the road at Maungarakau. It is open only at weekends during the summer. It is so nice to come across such a facility and have a good cup of coffee, literally in the middle of nowhere. Further down the road, and beyond a closed gate to keep sheep in, we came to the Anatori River, which we forded and then drove on to the end of the road at the next river. From the road we had views of the wild West Coast, and of Kahurangi Point with its lighthouse. It is possible to walk down the beach to Kahurangi Point - something for another day.
February 12 2009
At last, some rain! We have had 16 mm of rain overnight, so now the browned off landscape can revert to its usual green, and the water tanks will be topped up.
The white herons are back in numbers. I saw two in the Aorere estuary at Collingwood on the weekend, and another out at the West Coast yesterday. One of the ones in Collingwood was competing with two white-faced grey herons for a patch that obviously had good heron food. The godwits are still all here, many on the beach at Totara Ave, but expected to start their migration soon.
February 1 2009
Yesterday I saw my first white heron (Kotuku) for 2009. There is a population of about 6 of these majestic birds in Western Golden Bay. Published esitmates of the numbers of this highly endangered species range from 72 to 200. Each December, these normally solitary birds fly to Okarito on the West Coast of the South Island, where they congregate for breeding. They return in January / February.
January 25 2009
Another week of warm dry weather has passed. We could use some rain to freshen the vegetation. Our central courtyard is now complete, and the surrounding garden is being planted.
We look forward to the Collingwood Summer Food Fair next Sunday, February 1. This is a local fair featuring "food caught, shot, harvested, cultivated, bred, hooked and cooked locally... and free". Last year there was a wide range of local seafood as well as wild pork and venison coming from the local environment.
January 20 2009.
Welcome to the new Twin Waters Blog. I am starting this with good intentions and hope to update it on a regular basis.
Our summer season is in full swing and we have been very busy, although we still have some vacancies. All the new rooms are fully operational, and guests are making good use of our new guest lounge and internet facilities and New Zealand books in the new library. The weather has been fine and warm, although some rain in the past 2 days has been a welcome relief for the gardens and topped up our water tanks.