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An excellent 8 minute video by Dr Becky Smethurst, astrophysicist, explains how the Sun, Moon and Earth contribute to the tides: We all learn that the tides are caused by the Moon pulling on the Earth’s oceans. So how come there’s two high tides per day but we only have one Moon? Watch the video on YouTube: Why are there…
The storms at the end of May 2022 ate away at the Manga Pirau Street beach entrance again, causing a 40 cm drop-off into driftwood. And they brought driftwood, large and small high onto the beach. It reached as far as the blue post at the beach end of the north track off Reay Mackay Grove, and into the area…
Kāpiti Coast District Council have just released (May 2022) a pile of Coastal science information. They say: We asked independent consultancy Jacobs New Zealand Limited to assess our district for coastal hazards, from Ōtaki in the north to Paekākāriki in the south. The assessment updates previous coastal hazard assessments of the Kāpiti Coast District shoreline. It identifies areas susceptible to…
We’ve all heard about sea level rise, but it’s also important to know that parts of Aotearoa New Zealand are subsiding, including Waikawa Beach. Add that to the sea level rise and the forecast effects become a bit different. Sea level rise isn’t uniform around the world — the science over recent years has shown that things are more complicated.
The beach has always been a road — so says anyone around here. In my mind, that meant that occasionally a coach would manoeuvre its way along the sand. But apparently Waikawa Beach used to be fair thronging with travellers, as the following excerpt from a very interesting book makes clear: From Foxton to Wellington in Cobb and Company’s coach…
Sometimes the foam on the beach is brown which may lead us to think there’s pollution around. A Horizons Regional Council PDF explains though that it isn’t pollution but an algal growth: The brown foam seen on our beaches from time to time is surf algae, also known locally as surf scum. Surf algae are always present in the surf-zone…
Every summer from 1 November to 30 April Horizons Regional Council monitors the water at the Waikawa Beach footbridge for E. Coli, and just offshore for Enterococci. They also keep an eye out for potentially toxic algae (cyanobacteria). While the water by the footbridge is suitable for swimming only 46% of the time (a historical average), we don't seem to…
I recently became aware of a new publication — Life in the Shallows The wetlands of Aotearoa New Zealand by Karen Denyer and Monica Peters: Featuring wetlands to visit all around the country, descriptions of the rich bird, insect and plant life that can be found there, and some of the innovative ways we can protect and restore them, Life…
Get in touch with Miraz Jordan
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