Porirua and Whitaker’s Chocolate are throwing a Choctober Fest: cafés throughout Porirua for the whole month of October will be using Whitaker’s chocolate to create their own unique beverages and baked goods! The Pukerua Bay café are participating, Greedy & Co. at 98 Rawhiti Road (Tue-Fri 8am-1pm, Sat 9am-1pm). Their entries will be:
Raspberry gateau hot chocolate: A velvety, creamy hot chocolate with a raspberry twist, topped with whipped cream.
White Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie: a rich, decadent chocolate brownie topped with a creamy white chocolate cheesecake and berry swirl.
Escarpment Track slip, north of Pukerua Bay. Photo: Kiwirail
From the Te Araroa Wellington Trust: Please note that the Escarpment Track will be closed Tuesday and Thursday (1st and 3rd of December). On Tuesday a Te Araroa contractor will be clearing a slip across the track right above a huge slip that flows down almost to the railway line. On Thursday, KiwiRail contractors will be working from ropes placing sensors on the fences recently installed across the huge slip. These sensors will let Kiwirail train control know if any surface material has possibly slipped across the railway line. The ropes will be placed over the walking track which will therefore be dangerous to cross, hence the closure. The huge rainstorm in the area could cause other slips along the track, especially in the area of the two swing bridges. It is therefore possible that this programme may change.
Pukerua Bay now has a café of sorts – the new coffee caravan from Greedy & Co. on the grounds of the former St. Mark’s chapel on 98 Rawhiti Road, opposite the school (map).
Open 8am – 1pm, Tuesday–Saturday. Fresh roasted coffee, hot drinks and home-made baking including pies, scones, muffins, and gluten-free banana loaf.
After the successful opening day on the 4th of July, Renée and Sarah said on Facebook:
“WOW what an amazing day! We cannot believe all the support we received from all of you wonderful people! Thank you for all your patience while we found our way around our new space, it meant the world to us! See you all on Tuesday for round two”
“Thank you” photo message, from the Greedy & Co. Facebook page
The school kids proposed it, the skateboarders wanted it, the escarpment track walkers will be glad of it, and dogs will also benefit from it. The new long-awaited drinking fountain and refilling station by the skate park and playground is installed and ready to use! Check it out next time you’re out for a walk.
Work on driving the pipe down the pathway from Sea Vista Drive and building the concrete pad and small retaining wall was completed this week.
The Residents’ Association have engaged Porirua City Council to install a new water fountain and water bottle filler by the playground and skate park, just up from the railway station east car park. Installation will begin on Thursday 18 June and involve driving a water supply pipe under the concrete path from a new water connection on Sea Vista Drive. This means the footpath link to the station will be closed for two days. There will be a temporary sign put up a week before works start, to let commuters know of the slightly longer walk to the station.
The model of water fountain and bottle filler to be installed is similar to the one pictured in Plimmerton. It will be registered on the RefillNZ national database, which lets visitors know where fountains and bottle refill stations are all around New Zealand; a good thing for escarpment track walkers.
The RA thanks Porirua City Council and its Village Planning and Waste Minimization teams for their support and for funding the installation.
Update: In January 2018 Porirua City Council built a small earth wall to stabilise the bank, which has stopped further erosion. This area is identified in PCC’s coastal management strategy as an area that needs protecting.
Background
Thirty Ocean Parade residents, including Iain MacLean from the Pukerua Bay Residents’ Association, came together on 2 December 2016 to discuss the rapid erosion of shorefront, civil emergency procedures post-earthquake (14 November 2016) and severe weather event (12-15 November) causing a landslide on Beach road – blocking access and damaging properties on Ocean Parade – of which three had to be evacuated over a twenty-four period.
Aerial view of the beach along Ocean Parade.
We enhanced the Parade’s resilience through self-help community initiatives in regards to civil emergency procedures but the issue of rapid shorefront erosion was considered as urgent. We collectively concluded that we want to increase awareness of the problem and the residents selected a small Steering Group to undertake action. We want to see the Porirua City Council recognise the urgency of the shorefront erosion and act quickly to mitigate the effects of the inundation and subsequent erosion of the shorefront along Ocean Parade, Pukerua Bay – in close consultation with Pukerua Bay residents but with having vision for a long term solution. …
On Saturday, 9 April 2016, the Paekakariki Escarpment track opened to the public, enabling walkers to walk the entire length of the track between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki. The 10 km track climbs high above the railway line and is part of the Te Araroa New Zealand walking trail.
For one-way hikes, the nearby railway stations at Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki allow the option to take the train back to close to the starting point. The track is unsuitable for people with vertigo and children younger than 8 due to being narrow, with steep drop-offs to the side.
The Pukerua Bay Residents’ Association is conducting some community consultation about how Muri Reserve can be developed, and have published an online survey for residents to complete. If you have ideas about the community garden food forest, please complete the survey before the end of October, and let the Residents’ Association know your views!
The Pukerua Bay Residents’ Association is after your ideas for how Muri Reserve can be developed so more of us can use this wonderful space in the heart of Pukerua Bay.
Muri Reserve is a peaceful spot about two hectares in area, which sits between Muri Road, Sea Vista Drive and the old Muri railway station.
It is in two distinct zones. To the west is a large, flat, grassed, “amenity” zone that is surrounded with planting and has views of the hills and sea. The eastern side is an undeveloped, sloping, “natural” zone that includes a wetland, which feeds into Haunui Stream.
The PCC web site has information about the reserve and the restrictions on its use. These two zones are managed differently by PCC and it has different objectives for them. It wants to encourage casual recreation and natural play opportunities in the amenity zone, raise awareness of heritage values, and protect ecological values in the natural zone.
Muri Reserve is part of a popular walking circuit around Pukerua Bay, but access from Sea Vista Drive is down a steep slope. Access directly off Muri Road is very difficult as the ground is very steep in one area. There is good access onto the two zones from the Muri Station platform.
The community identified Muri Reserve in the 2011 Pukerua Bay Village Plan as an area that could be used more for recreation. Suggestions from the community for the reserve included:
Further planting with native plants
Continued use of the amenity zone as a dog exercise area (dogs can be exercised there at any time)
Recreational activities, such as sport areas, picnic area, barbecue, playground, BMX track for young children
A board-walk across the wetland to connect the two halves of the natural zone
Community garden/heritage orchard
Memorial garden
Event venue (e.g. cushion concerts)
Community garden/food forest
There is strong support for a community garden or orchard on Muri Reserve. There is a keen group of local people wanting to develop one on the flat area at the eastern side of the reserve, behind the houses at the end of Muri Road. Access to this would be via the old railway station platform.
Tuesday 14 March. Meet at 9.30, Muri Station. Bring a sunhat and water, grubber, spade or lopper.
