Slow progress on Albert Town flood damage

Flood damage to the rock work that supports the bank and the pathway upstream of the Albert Town bridge will be repaired in the coming months, the Otago Regional Council (ORC) says, and an information session will be held for locals next week.

The pathway below the bank has been closed since it was damaged in the December 2019 floods, and further damaged from high river flows in February. 

“It’s a complex project that involves repairs in the flowing river,” ORC engineering manager Michelle Mifflin said. “We are taking a ‘do it once and do it well’ approach so the bank can perform well in future high flow events, and we don’t have to repeatedly close and repairn the bank and pathway below it for years to come following high flow events.

“We’ve engaged experts to design a repair solution that will start to be implemented in the coming weeks and we anticipate the construction will be completed by December 2020, at which time the pathway will be reopened.”

The drop in session, where people can talk to the ORC project team, will be held on Tuesday September 8, 2020, from 3pm to 6pm at the Riverside Park Community Facility, corner of Heron Green and Wren Street, Albert Town.

Recognition for Wanaka Water Taxi

Wanaka Water Taxi has won the award two years in a row. PHOTO: Supplied

Wanaka Water Taxi and 4x4 Explorer have been recognised with a 2020 Travellers’ Choice Award.

The award programme celebrates travellers' activities around the world, and winners are calculated based on the quality and quantity of the reviews and ratings collected on Tripadvisor in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

Owner-operators Brent Shears and Krystle Theunissen said the reviews were mostly for their Mou Waho Island trips and their Wanaka 4x4 Explorer trips (boat access 4x4 tours on Mt Burke). 

“We are very happy and thankful for all the great reviews of our lovely guests which lead to receiving the Tripadvisors award two years in a row,” Krystle said. “It's been a very challenging year with the bad spring, the flood and COVID, all while Brent was in Christchurch for medical treatment. But we pulled it all off. Therefore the award feels even better this year.”

She said the award is thanks to their guides Jason, Kyle, Charlie and Mike, “because no matter how good the product, it’s the guides that make a trip”.

Krystle said the business hasn’t been operating since lockdown but will open again September 26 with some local deals and new products for Kiwi families. 

Stars in Your Eyes 2020 cancelled

Unfortunately the shorter show was not possible under alert level two. IMAGE: Supplied

Wanaka’s annual Stars in Your Eyes music show has fallen victim to COVID-19.

The team behind the popular show cancelled this year’s event earlier this year, which would have been the 28th show. However, they planned an all-day musical event for September 5.  

“Sadly COVID has beaten us again and we shall not be able to bring you the musical event planned for 5 September in the Lake Wanaka Centre,” the organisers announced on their Facebook page. “Thank you to everyone who offered to contribute, and we’re really sorry not to be able to put the show on. We’ll be back bigger and better than ever in September 2021.”

Stars in Your Eyes Chair Janet Dolan told the Wanaka App the show wouldn’t be possible in alert level two. 

Calling all poets

Queenstown poet Bethany Rogers performed at the regional SLAM finals in 2017. PHOTO: Supplied

A local poetry group is calling for poets and writers from Otago and the Southern Lakes to come “slam it” with the best for the chance to represent their region at the NZ Poetry Slam national finals in Christchurch.

Poetic Justice Wanaka is running the series for the Across the Bridge festival 2020.

Slam has a particular format that is replicated all over the world. Poems must be less than three minutes long and no costumes and props are allowed; the poems are judged by five audience representatives chosen by the MC.

Heats will be held in Queenstown, Cromwell and Wanaka (Monday September 28 at Rhyme and Reason), with the final at the festival in Bannockburn. Finalists will be invited to compete for the regional title at the final on October 7 at Coronation Hall in Bannockburn.

Event co-organiser Laura Williamson said it’s a great time for both the poets and the audience. 

“There’s no one style or one way to win, and we’ve loved sending our regional reps to the finals in the past, who have performed everything from high-country ballads, so spoken word pieces about busted ACLs, to love poems. It’s about your voice,” she said.

Find more information on the Poetic Justice Wanaka Facebook page.

‘No excuses’ boating safety campaign hits record high

Boats at Eely Point during summer. PHOTO: Supplied

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) is part of Maritime NZ’s No Excuses on-water compliance campaign, which has reached a record-breaking 4,208 on-water interactions with boaties to drive a safer boating culture.

The campaign has resulted in encouraging signs of increased compliance with key safety messages, including greater carriage and wearing of lifejackets, Maritime NZ deputy director and Safer Boating Forum chair Sharyn Forsyth said.  

Overall, the campaign data shows the number of lifejackets being carried on board increased slightly from 95 per cent to 97 per cent. The number of lifejackets being worn when legally required increased from 83 per cent to 87 per cent over the previous year, with an increase in wearing on powerboats (99 per cent) being the largest driver.

The campaign involved harbourmasters from across New Zealand joining forces with Maritime NZ staff to check boaties’ compliance with the boat code safety rules and local bylaws including lifejacket wearing and safe speed.

The last No Excuses on-water compliance campaign was conducted on five random days in each region from 12 October 2019 until 31 March 2020.