Beach Comparison Photos from the North Track, late 2022

It’s so heartening to see the incipient dunes flourishing south of the river mouth. Birds are nesting in that little haven and as the dunes grow most of the vehicles are staying out.

The growth in the dunes in that area is thanks in large part to the hundreds of volunteer and Council staff hours spent in spinifex plantings intended to build and retain sand.

Local Stephen Betts has kindly supplied a set of photos comparing how the beach by the North Track off Reay Mackay Grove has looked at various times over the last few years.

Stephen says:

Unfortunately, the images are all different sizes and a few positions, and focal lengths on the cameras, but I have scaled to try and match a few points.

On that page select one date and then drag the slider button to show the comparison. Watch the baby dunes appear right before your eyes!

Stephen also supplied another pair of comparison photos:

A before and after picture of the beach using the sliders Not quite taken from the same location, or with the same camera lens.

Also see the previously published Compare 2016 and 2019 images of the North track area and Compare 2016 and 2019 images of the Miratana track area.

Images like these really highlight the dynamic nature of our bit of the coastline. Planting spinifex and pīngao, and leaving driftwood on the beach are two easy and comparatively inexpensive ways to combat erosion.

Here’s a suggestion I made to Craig Kidd, HDC Parks and Property Officer | Āpiha Papa Rēhia, Rawa:

I’d love it if HDC had a professional quality drone that can have a GPS location programmed and then would take shots from exactly the same spot several times per year… Be great for our spinifex area, the river mouth etc.

Something to ask HDC or Horizons Regional Council for — after all, it could be used to monitor all the coastlines they are responsible for.