Waiohine and Waingawa Rivers
Sunday 29 November
Forest & Bird, Whitewater NZ, Wairarapa tramping clubs, Fish & Game, OSNZ, Department of Conservation, Greater Wellington Regional Council and about 150 Wairarapa residents came together at the Waiohine and Atiwhakatu Rivers on Sunday 29 November to celebrate the regions’ Wild Rivers.
Over fifty kayakers and rafters gathered at “Walls Whare” to run the Waiohine River as part of the national “A Day on a Wild River” event. The event was organized by Whitewater NZ and a local rafting operator, Wairapa Outdoor Pursuits, supplied the rafting for a $10.00 donation, which will go towards setting up a local group to advocate for wild rivers.
Rafters and kayakers enjoyed floating though the scenic Waiohine gorge and playing in the easy grade II rapids. It rained heavily in the Tararuas on Saturday and kayakers from the local club, Wairarapa Paddlers, were out in force to take advantage of the extra water in the river. On Sunday, the weather cleared and the river was at a safe level, making perfect conditions to celebrate one of Wairarapa’s best wild rivers
In the afternoon Mt Holdsworth and Atiwhakatu River were the focus of Wild River celebrations.
GWRC and DOC freshwater scientists Alton Perrie and Amber McEwan got the audience fascinated about freshwater fish and invertebrates. One of their messages was that the fish in our clean wild rivers also need clean rivers further downstream, as they are the highways in which our whitebait and other fish species are migrating through on their way from the sea to the headwaters in the hills.
Wairarapa Forest & Bird Kiwi Conservation Club co-coordinator Trevor Thompson took an enthusiastic group of walkers on a guided trip into the Forest Park with as highlight the now very rare brightly orange coloured beech mistletoe on the bank of the Atiwhakatu River.
John Rhodes’ clever non-stop Tararua rivers slideshow in the lodge gave the public a very personal view of our rivers.
Department of Conservation staff and Forest & Bird volunteers had a range of displays, brochures and magazines available to the participants and passers by.
The day showed how much the Wairarapa public enjoys and values our wild rivers. Forest & Bird’s Lower North Island Field Officer and co-organizer of the event Aalbert Rebergen compared the general public interest in our wild rivers with the beach: “we all visit the beach and our rivers at certain times of the year, often in summer, to go for a swim in our favorite swimming hole or to go fishing, kayaking, rafting or just go for a walk along the river bank. We tend to take these things for granted and only realize what we are missing when it’s too late. These rivers in our Forest Park appear to be safe, but are they? It was only last week that Meridian was being mentioned in the same sentence as Wairarapa Irrigation…… So the Wairarapa public needs to be alert and let our politicians and other decision makers know that how much we value these rivers for our recreation and for our wildlife”!
Further Information
Contact Aalbert Rebergen, a.rebergen@forestandbird.org.nz
