Field Trips

Field Trip: Northern Tour

Our northern tour departs the central city and head north to stop at Brooklands Lagoon/Te Riu o Te Aika and the Waimakariri River mouth. Part of the mouth system of the Waimakariri River, the lagoon has changed dramatically over the last 140 years through a combination of natural events and a history of successful (and not so successful) river control works which have shaped the estuary morphology we see today. The lagoon-side settlement of Brooklands was badly affected by the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence and subsequently red-zoned with around 500 properties demolished.

We’ll then cross the Waimakariri River and continue north to visit the Tūhaitara Coastal Park. The Park spans 10km of coastline from the Waimakariri River to Waikuku Beach. Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust is dedicated to the rehabilitation and management of this 700ha coastal park, with a multi-generational vision to restore indigenous coastal ecosystems supporting a diverse range of native flora and fauna species and providing sustainable mahinga kai.

We’ll visit a number of the Trust’s numerous rehabilitation projects including Biota Nodes, restoration of the magnificent Tūtaepatu Lagoon and the establishment of a demonstration site of a restored native coastal forest sequence, from foredune to coastal hinterland, once typical of north Canterbury.

Field Trip: Christchurch Walking Tour

Christchurch has had to adapt in response to the changing physical and social environment, and even 14 years after the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 that adaption through recovery and rebuilding of the city infrastructure is ongoing. Our city field trip has a coastal flavour through observation and interpretation of the paleo-coastal landscape from post-maximum sea-level transgression to impacts on the post-earthquake revival.

Our local geographer/field guide will provide a walking commentary on the history and rejuvenation of central Christchurch, lessons learnt from engineering successes and failures, what we have lost and what we have gained. If you have never been to Christchurch there is much to enjoy from our small urban village. If you have not been here since before 2011 then there are huge changes to appreciate. If you haven’t been to the city within the last week you’ll still see and learn something new.

A round trip of about 6 km will be covered over three hours, with pauses for talk, play and refreshment.

Field Trip: Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour Cruise

Join us on a cruise of picturesque Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour. We’ll depart through the inner harbour of Lyttelton Port, then head over and land on Ōtamahua Quail Island, rich in history and culture and boasting several local and national historic sites.

After a short stroll on the island, we’ll cruise out to the Heads, where along the way we’ll share some of the harbour’s natural and cultural history and hear about the Christchurch City Council’s coastal adaptation planning programme for the Harbour’s many and unique coastal settlements and assets.

Field Trip: Eastern Christchurch

Our eastern fieldtrip will travel north-east from the centre of Christchurch through the now vacant ‘red zoned’ areas on the north side of the Avon River to the coast at North New Brighton where we’ll hear about the history and reasons for the modifications that have occurred to the dunes in this area, as well as the ongoing management of the dunes along the Christchurch coast. No visit to the Christchurch coast would be complete without taking a trip out to the end of the New Brighton Pier, and from this focal point of New Brighton, we’ll be able to see the recent developments in the New Brighton area including the popular He Puna Taimoana hotpools.

Our fieldtrip will continue down the coast to the tip of the South Brighton spit, and from here we’ll be able to see some of the impacts on the coastal areas of Redcliffs and Sumner caused by the earthquakes, as well as some of the subsequent works and developments that have occurred in these areas over the last decade. We’ll also be able to see the dynamic interactions and physical changes that occur at the mouth of the Avon Heathcote/Ihutai Estuary, and also see how the adjacent coastlines are responding to bed level changes in the estuary as a result of the earthquakes.

Our last stop will be at the western edge of the estuary to take in the Charlesworth Reserve, where over the last 30 years, the CCC has restored and replanted a 20 ha area of former pastureland into a diverse coastal wetland ecosystem.