The View From Opoutere
Useful information about the Opoutere area brought to you by the Opoutere Ratepayers and Residents Association.
Kapa Kapa Wetland Planting Day
The Wharekawa Catchment Care Group has invited the community to attend the first planting of the Kapa Kapa Wetland Restoration Project on Wednesday 9th September (postponement day Wednesday 16th September)
10am – 1pm.
Come along to the southern entrance near Kapa Kapa bridge, parking can be found along Kapa Kapa Rd.
Bring a spade and a mug, gumboots and a waterproof jacket.
Refreshments will be provided – tea/coffee, hot soup, sausages and bread.
This is a fantastic initiative that the WCCG have spearheaded, if you have any questions about it please call Jethro Dyer at Opoutere School, 07 865 9077.
Seal Update
Opoutere has been visited by several seals during the last month, there have been varying reports of 5 different animals, both young and old. Then there was the sad news that one of these lovely animals had died on the stretch of Opoutere beach north of the yellow bench entrance. Happily there is still a very alert and active seal further along the beach.
Kevin Carter, Department Of Conservation Ranger, has issued a warning that one of these seals appears to be a juvenile leopard seal in moult and should not be approached as these seals can be more aggressive than fur seals. Please do not try to get close to any seal you may come across, if you have concerns about their welfare or health please contact Kevin on 07 867 9241.
Val Herbert took this beautiful photo of one of our seals.
Special thanks to Amelia Williams who has been in contact with DOC staff and has kept ORRA informed of these developments. Thanks also to Val Herbert for her photos and updates.
A Seal Of Approval For Opoutere
The Wharekawa estuary is hosting a very charming visitor at the moment. Over the last week or so locals have enjoyed watching a sleek black sealion swimming about, feeding on kahawai, playing and sunbathing. Our guest can be seen at low tide herding fish into the shallows and then proceeding to play with his/her food, often near the boat ramp or Bruce’s Bay. This process involves much thrashing around, playing with the fish and then a lusty feasting – the seagulls are beneficiaries of this and can be seen whirling about overhead as the fish is messily consumed. Sometimes the sealion cruises up and down the estuary with one fin regally waving in the air until such time as it is necessary to roll about or have a comprehensive scratching session. If the day is fine sunbathing can be achieved on the boat ramp or at the bottom of Wharekawa Place.
Keep your eyes peeled!
The Onemana Voluntary Rural Fire Service Needs You!
The Onemana Voluntary Rural Fire Force has a space on its committee and the Fire Chief, Jo Adams, has extended an invitation to the Opoutere community to fill it.
Ideally it would be someone who is NOT a firefighter, but that person should be energetic, practical and committed to help the Fire Force move forward with the building of a new fire station in Onemana. This vitally important new building will stand immediately behind the current station and will feature four bays for fire appliances and a fantastic upstairs function room with capacity to seat 100 people.
Opoutere has a longstanding relationship with the Onemana VRFF and we are reliant on them for first response care not just for fire but for any major emergency, all year round. Their fundraising catering unit is a fixture at our annual regatta and Jo’s truck is seen every night through the summer months as he travels through the village on his way to patrol the forest and beach. This is a great opportunity to be involved with a proactive and growing committee.
The Onemana VRFF is having its AGM on July 29 so please give it some serious thought and contact Jo with any questions you may have.
Contact Jo at : joadams1014@gmail.com, or call him on 027 449 3034.
An Opoutere Mid-Winter Christmas
A beautiful Opoutere view from the YHA.
On the first weekend of the July school holidays there is going to be a special function for the Opoutere community to come together and enjoy some mid-winter cheer.
WHERE: YHA Opoutere
WHEN: 4th of July, Sat from 5pm.
Please bring a plate and your drinks.
A donation of a gold coin will cover the use of the YHA Opoutere’s facilities and will also go towards new life jackets for the kayaks.
This is a great initiative from Mark and Teresa at the YHA, it will be lovely to see lots of old friends and meet new ones. Put it in the diary!
For more information about the Youth Hostel (YHA) visit their page here.
ORRA Wins In The Environment Court!
After a four and a half year battle ORRA has ensured that the the Opoutere beach and sand spit must now be included in the Waikato Regional Policy Statement as an ‘Outstanding Natural Feature and Landscape’ (“ONFL”) and the estuary and surrounds must now be identified in the RPS as an area of ‘ecological significance’.
The process culminated in an appeal to the Environment Court that was heard over several days in late 2014. Our community has been represented by one of our own, the very talented and dedicated Mike Lloyd. On behalf of the ORRA membership and its committee Chairperson Victoria Spence would like to publicly acknowledge the determination, sheer hard work and inspired leadership shown by Mike throughout this (often frustrating) process.
The recognition and protection from inappropriate development/use for the area that this designation achieves cannot be overstated, please take the time to read the judgment by clicking on this link: 0.pdf
Thanks must also be extended to our expert witnesses John Dowding (shorebird ecologist) and Mark Lockhart (landscape architect).
This is very exciting news!
Jetty Repair Working Bee – Saturday 16 May 11am-1pm
A couple of months ago the jetty was towed back into position by a determined team of locals (praise be!), it has been held in place with chains and straps as a temporary measure but now help is needed to finish the job.
The jetty platform is readied for its ride back to its rightful place.
Mussel floats provided the buoyancy needed to move the jetty.
On Saturday May 16 between 11am and 1pm (low tide) there is going to be a low-key working bee to cement rocks around the poles of the jetty platform. This is not meant to be a long-term solution but it will at least afford the jetty some protection from winter storms. Strong backs and arms are needed (at least 4-5 people) to move some rocks and carry bags of cement mix.
Please email any questions to mlekner@gmail.com
JETTY UPDATE, 5 June 2015
The repair crew have sent out an update after their working bee:
The working bee for the jetty foundations was a success, with a good turn out and a good result. It won’t go anywhere next extraordinary weather event, just break up….) A special thanks is owed to Bunnings who came through on the timber materials.
Thanks to the organisers and everyone who came along to help, our jetty lives to fight another day!
Post-Easter Update
Easter was action-packed! The Hall Society elected a new committee after a well-attended AGM, the Beach Boys won the cricket, elaeagnus got chopped down, new babies appeared, the jetty was jumped off, ORRA celebrated some successful fundraising results and we enjoyed spectacularly still autumn weather.
Working Bee Progress
The Easter 2015 Weedbusting Working Bee was attended by 40 people, a fantastic turnout, we love you all. With a new brush cutter and several chainsaws roaring, people scrambling underneath huge elaeagnus trees and a small army chopping away with loppers we cleared just under 1000m2 in 2.5 hours. We had new tools and a box of poison paste (courtesy of a Department of Conservation grant) and lots of safety gear for everyone.
Looking at a photograph it’s hard to really appreciate the impact that our working bees are making in the forest behind the YHA. If you are sure-footed it is well worth the effort of diverting uphill from the YHA Nature Walk. Clamber over some loose boulders, negotiate the old boundary fence and then marvel at the lovely coastal broadleaf forest that surrounds the base of Maungaruawahine. Increasingly free of the elaeagnus that threatens to smother it the forest now has the chance to regenerate, thanks to the blood, sweat and tears (of joy..!) of our Weedbusting Working Bee volunteers.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next chance to get involved, we hope to hold regular working bees over the coming months and will share details on this website and in notices distributed about the village. You can also contact us on our Get Involved page.
Funding Success
ORRA would like to acknowledge the generous grants awarded by the Department of Conservation and Waikato Regional Council to help us continue our work in animal pest and weed control in the Opoutere area.
In March the Department of Conservation allocated $4000 from its Waikato Community Conservation Fund to ORRA to purchase tools, poison and safety gear to be used when clearing elaeagnus, a very invasive climbing plant that has become established in the coastal broadleaf forest between the YHA and the Maungaruawahine summit.
In April Waikato Regional Council granted $4,590.16 from its Small Scale Community Initiatives Fund for the purchase of Goodnature possum traps to protect the forest which will regenerate as we clear the elaeagnus and employ local contractors to remove some elaeagnus that is growing in high areas not safely accessed by working bee volunteers.
We have committed to a long-term programme of cutting the plants, pasting the stumps and chopping the debris to form a mulch on the forest floor. Complementing this approach we hope to start actively replanting the forest floor (no seedlings can germinate under the dense canopy of elaeagnus) to prevent further weed strike in the lovely open areas.
This funding recognises the on-going efforts of our community, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to DoC and WRC for giving us the means to continue this work.
ORRA would also like to recognise the fundraising efforts of committee member Rachel Lang. Rachel designed, procured and distributed the wonderful 2015 Opoutere t-shirts. The t-shirts are almost completely sold out with only a few kids’ shirts still available. The t-shirts raised just under $2000 this summer and it’s great to see so many people wearing them. The great Opoutere t-shirt tradition lives on! 
To view the latest news (including a tally of our pest victims!) from our Ecology Team visit the Pest Control page.
EASTER HAPPENINGS *Working Bee Rescheduled for Sunday*
Autumn has arrived, the days are getting shorter and cooling down. These changes in the season always herald the Easter period and the first set of school holidays for our Opoutere family. Easter runs from Friday April 3 through to Monday April 6, the school holidays run until mid April.
It’s a great time to catch up with people that you haven’t seen since the summer holidays and to get on top of a few jobs before winter creeps in (who doesn’t love clearing guttering…?).
While there is a good group of people around it’s a popular time to get some community involvement on some important issues as well. On Easter Saturday the Opoutere Community Hall Society are having a second attempt at their AGM. A quorum couldn’t be achieved for the first AGM in February so they are trying again. If you have an interest in the Hall please attend this meeting to make your views known and participate in the election of the new committee.
**WORKING BEE DATE CHANGE**WORKING BEE DATE CHANGE**WORKING BEE DATE CHANGE**
There is also another amazing, slashing, shredding Weedbusting Working Bee amongst the elaeagnus behind the Opoutere YHA.
We are making great progress against the elaeagnus and uncovering some wonderful coastal broadleaf forest in the process. To support the Hall society’s AGM and allow Saturday’s keen cricketers to attend the working bee we are rescheduling our working bee from Saturday to Easter Sunday 2pm.
We will meet at the cemetery paddock just beyond the YHA and its neighbouring houses, drive up the gravel driveway and park by the far fence in the paddock and you’ll hear a chainsaw or two in action.
The details:
When: Easter SUNDAY, 2pm-4.30
Where: Up the gravel driveway by the cemetery just beyond the YHA on Opoutere Rd
Parking: The landowners have very kindly allowed us to park our vehicles and bicycles in the paddock. This allows us much safer access to the areas of elaeagnus that we have reached in past Working Bees.
Bring: Sturdy boots, long pants and top, gloves, safety glasses, ear muffs, hand saws, loppers, chainsaws and petrol, hedge trimmers and a good sense of humour.
CRICKET MADNESS
For those of who are in the grip of cricket fever (this phenomenon was a mystery to some of us until NZ vs SA) you may be interested in the Annual Village v. Beachboys Opoutere cricket game, to be held at Graham Oval, Easter Saturday 4.4.15, starting @ 2pm.
Here is the official announcement from Neil Graham:
“There is a quiet confidence for another huge win for the Beachboys, who are defending the title they won comfortably last year.
I have given the pitch its first serious mow last weekend, in preparation for the event.
With the dry, hot summer predicted to continue for some weeks, it’s likely that the outfield will be fast (for those who prefer to do their scoring in increments of 4).
The trophy has had the traditional addition made.
So, we’re all set for another exciting game.”
Not to be dismissed as just a casual game of cricket between friends and neighbours, this is serious business. Opoutere’s bravest will be donning whites and taking their performance enhancing drugs (hot cross buns) before entering the fray. Good luck to all, may the best team win.
So mark these events on your calendars, it’s going to be a busy time!
Opoutere Community Hall Society AGM 2015
Inside our lovely hall.
The Opoutere Community Hall Society is holding a very important AGM on Saturday February 28th at 10.30am.
Please come along if you are able, the Hall society is looking forward to electing some new committee members and to have a conversation about how the Hall is run. The meeting needs a quorum of 12 and a committee of 6, there are 68 members of the Hall Society so a good turn-out is anticipated!
Here is the official notification of the AGM:
The View From Opoutere 