2009. Heathcote River Estuary Circuit, Christchurch

2009. Tunnel Road over Heathcote Bridge up Heathcote Valley, Port Hills, Christchurch

I parked my car in Charlesworth Street near Ferry Road, as I wanted to walk around Heathcote River Estuary. I walked upriver along Heathcote River towpath past old Heathcote Wharf, over a creek footbridge, then crossed Heathcote Bridge, which took busy traffic along Tunnel Road up Heathcote Valley, Christchurch.


2009. Heathcote Estuary Wetlands near Heathcote Bridge, Heathcote Valley, Christchurch

I walked downriver beside Heathcote River south bank, along a muddy vehicle track in Heathcote River Reserve. Horse hoofprints, MTB tracks and puddles sludged the track. Native plantings behind a fence obscured Heathcote River on my left, but scrubby wetland on my right with a grand view of Heathcote Valley, Horotane Valley and Avoca Valley, Port Hills made the mud bearable.


2009. Tunnel Road on right going towards Heathcote Valley left. Horotane Valley middle, Avoca Valley right, Port Hills, Christchurch

By a pine shelterbelt the road track became an MTB shared gravel track in Heathcote Valley Heritage Park, with soggy farmlands going up Heathcote Valley. Tunnel Road traffic noise was irritating, but breaks in the pine shelterbelt enabled me to explore the riverbank, with views to the towpath on the opposite north bank, and views downriver towards Saint Andrews Hill suburb.


2009. Heathcote River Estuary downriver view towards Saint Andrews Hill, Port Hills, Christchurch. The brand new block of flats, middle left, was destroyed in the 22.02.11 quake & demolished

At one pine break I saw two middle-aged lesbians in amorous clinch, which they converted to vigorous stick throwing for their dog when they spotted me. The water-frolicking dog enjoyed their sudden attention. Another woman walking her dog passed me in pine tree freedom.


2009. Heathcote River Estuary downriver view towards Devil's Elbow & St Andrews Hill, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh in Devil's Elbow, Christchurch

I continued my riparian stroll, enjoying river views of Devil's Elbow salt marshes, and valley views. I crossed a creek tributary by Heathcote River Devil's Elbow, and passed under two rows of electric pylons marching up to Avoca Valley.


2009. Pylons, south bank Heathcote River Estuary, marching towards, Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley, Port Hills, Christchurch


2009. South-eastwards view over Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh towards Ferrymead & Heathcote Valley, Christchurch


2009. looking west over Soggy Paddocks beside south bank of Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary south bank Wetland. Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley, Port Hills backdrop


2009. White Faced Heron, Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch

Pine trees petered out by waterlogged horse paddocks beside Heathcote Estuary. The gravel track continued across a small causeway towards Ferrymead Golf Course on my right, and Heathcote Estuary salt marshes on my left.

I looked back at the big bend downriver of Devil's Elbow, and enjoyed the play of sunlight across salt marsh waters. I watched a white faced heron wading in the shallows, looking for prey. Two chatty girls on MTBs pedalled past below Ferrymead Golf Course. A bloke riding an MTB also rumbled past in the opposite direction.


2009. Northwards view of Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh, Christchurch


2009. Eastwards view of Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh near Ferrymead. St Andrews Hill backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Ferrymead Golf Course near Heathcote River Estuary. Heathcote Valley, Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Big Bend after Devil's Elbow near Ferrymead, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Last Big Bend by Ferrymead. St Andrews Hill backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh near Ferrymead Park, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh by Ferrymead Park Railway, Christchurch

I crossed another tributary creek at Ferrymead Golf Course entrance, and passed two gates too. I looked at the last big bend on Heathcote Estuary as it flowed past Ferrymead. I crossed Ferrymead Park railway over another creek. There were not one, but three red, black and cream plastic signs fastened to poles stating:

PRIVATE PROPERTY
AUTHORISED
PERSONNEL ONLY
ALL TRESPASSERS
WILL BE
PROSECUTED


2009. Ferrymead Park Sign by Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch


2009. Ferrymead Park Railway. Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Ferrymead Tram near Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch

Ferrymead Park was chasing tourist dollars, but needed to inspire local goodwill, as it lost mine the moment I read those signs. As I wanted to follow Heathcote Estuary, a short walkway through Ferrymead Park would've got me through asap. Traffic lights by the operating tram track led me along a grotty tarsealed road to Ferrymead Park reception office, where a board stated:

FERRYMEAD
HERITAGE
PARK

ENTRANCE ->

<- CARPARK


2009. Ferrymead Park Reception. Horatane Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Maori Pa, Ferrymead Park. St Andrews Hill backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Maori Pa beyond Ferrymead Tramway. Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Ferrymead Station by Heathcote River. Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Railway at Ferrymead Wharf by Heathcote River, Christchurch

Beside the tarsealed road on my left I passed a pseudo Maori Pa, all logs and rustic huts on a pseudo hill, and a pseudo wetland across the road with an "algal bloom" warning sign beside the water.

Tired of Sunday afternoon traffic on the tarsealed road, I walked beside a tram track past the Maori Pa to Rivermead Park Station and Wharf beside Heathcote Estuary. I saw old buses, trams and a trolley bus by sheds, and watched tourists riding a tram from the TRAM STOP towards more thrills in Ferrymead Park.


2009. Working Tram, Ferrymead Tram Stop by Heathcote River. Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Old Tram, Ferrymead Tramway by Heathcote River. Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch.

I walked past Ferrymead Printery and out Ferrymead Park gate, where a blue and white sign stated:

269
FERRYMEAD
TRAMWAY

FERRYMEAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC &
HERITAGE TRAMWAYS TRUST


2009. Ferrymead Park Gate, Ferrymead Terrace by Heathcote River, Christchurch

I walked down Ferrymead Terrace towards Ferrymead Bridge beside pseudo, broad-gauge railway tracks, past old Ferrymead House on Heathcote Estuary bank by the old Ferry Landing Site. On a rock beside the road a black granite plaque stated:

NEW ZEALAND'S FIRST RAILWAY
THIS STONE MARKS THE SITE OF FERRYMEAD
WHARF AND RAILWAY STATION

THE PROVINCIAL BROAD GAUGE RAILWAY
STARTED HERE FOR CHRISTCHURCH
IN THE YEAR 1863
CANTERBURY PILGRIMS & EARLY SETTLERS ASSN.


2009. New Zealand's First Railway Memorial, Ferrymead Terrace by Heathcote River, Christchurch


2009. Ferrymead Terrace & Heathcote River near Ferrymead Bridge. Heathcote Valley, Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch

Below a gum tree, I watched a Maori man fishing the incoming tide by Ferrymead Bridge. On a board by the bridge I read a RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT 1991 Application for a Resource Consent Notice about dredging Heathcote Estuary over the next 35 years, as Heathcote Estuary had silted up.


2009. Heathcote River near Ferrymead Bridge. Ferrymead House on left. Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River entering Avon-Heathcote Estuary by Ferrymead Bridge, Christchurch


2009. Resource Consent Application Notice for dredging by Ferrymead Bridge, Christchurch


2009. Ferrymead Bridge view of Heathcote River, Heathcote Valley & Horotane Valley, Christchurch

I stood on Ferrymead Bridge and watched the Pacific wheezing, snapped upriver Coolpix, then returned to my car on the north bank via lower Heathcote River towpath. Several late afternoon MTBs passed me on my return stroll.

The Heathcote River Estuary circuit took me 2 hours 15 minutes.

Coda: Ferrymead Bridge was damaged in the 2010-2011 quakes. By 2014 it was still undergoing repairs. During quakes, hillside & coastal suburbs beyond Ferrymead Bridge were cut off. Quake damaged roads were parlous for years. Sewage & water pipes crossing Heathcote Estuary were quake damaged, causing strife in coastal suburbs beyond Ferrymead Bridge.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

2009. Lower Heathcote River Towpath and Salt Marshes

I parked my car near Ferry Road roundabout and Heathcote Bridge, where Tunnel Road crossed Heathcote River and went up Heathcote Valley to Lyttelton. I wanted to walk the old towpath beside lower Heathcote River along Devil's Elbow, a tight bend, then past a big bend up Heathcote Valley which included salt marshes, before Heathcote River Estuary joined Avon-Heathcote Estuary.


2009. Heathcote Wharf by lower Heathcote River & Heathcote Bridge. Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch

I started at the site of the old Heathcote Wharf (1852) which was later named Steam Wharf (1856). By Heathcote Wharf site, a bronze strip round a white stone bollard stated:

THIS BOLLARD MARKS THE SITE OF
THE STEAM WHARF 1856

ERECTED BY
THE CANTERBURY PILGRIMS' ASSOCIATION
16th DECEMBER 1940


2009. Heathcote Wharf Info Board, Christchurch

Nearby A PATHWAY FOR TRAVELLERS info board stated:

"For centuries Maori used Opawaho (Heathcote River) to travel between settlements, and to reach food and resources in the estuary and wetlands nearby.

The sailing vessels bringing settlers from Europe travelled at first to Christchurch Quay near Radley Bridge.... but it was a slow journey around the long meander of Woolston Loop.

Using the Heathcote Wharf (built here in 1852) cut out the Woolston Loop and this reduced sailing time.

In 1856 small ships powered by both sail and steam regularly called here and it became known as Steam Wharf.

In only a few years, the railway replaced the river as the main transport highway. Later still, railway gave way to road." (CCC)


2009. Native Plantings on Towpath, lower Heathcote River. Pine Shelter Belt on opposite bank


2009. Ferry Road Businesses & Native Plantings, lower Heathcote River Towpath, Christchurch

I walked downriver along a gravel track with the backs of Ferry Road businesses on my left and Heathcote River on my right. Ducks and cormorants swam and fished in the water. Native plantings on both sides of the track buffered Ferry Road traffic noise. A male jogger and two middle-aged women walking their dogs passed me.


2009. Lower Heathcote River Towpath, Christchurch


2009. Glasswort, Sarcocornia quinqueflora, on bank of lower Heathcote River, Christchurch

As it was low tide, I saw thousands of mudflat snails, Amphibola crenata on river mud. On the opposite bank I saw farmland behind a pine shelter-belt. I crossed a wooden footbridge, and a businessman wearing a suit greeted me in passing. Two male cyclists passed too.

Near Charlesworth Street I wandered a mudflat, and on the riverbank I saw halophytic glassworts, Sarcocornia quinqueflora, which formed a mat binding riverbank mud. A kayaker paddled past, going downriver.


2009. Towpath Cyclist amongst cabbage trees, lower Heathcote River, Christchurch


2009. Lower Heathcote River Kayaker. Heathcote Valley backdrop, Christchurch. Flotsam & Sea Rush, Juncus maritimus, foreground


2009. Marsh Ribbonwood, Plagianthus divaricatus, by cabbage trees, lower Heathcote River, Christchurch

By Heathcote River Devil's Elbow, the track curved beside sea rushes, Juncus maritimus, which was the dominant salt marsh halophyte. All along the riverbank, marsh ribbonwoods, Plagianthus divaricatus, lined the track, amongst cabbage trees, flax, dodoneas, olearias and pittosporums.


2009. Footbridge over Salt Marsh, Heathcote River Estuary. Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Salt Marsh, Heathcote River Estuary. Heathcote Valley & Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch. Sea Rush, Juncus maritimus, dominant halophyte



2009. Salt Marsh, Heathcote River Estuary. Heathcote Valley backdrop, Christchurch. Sea Rush, Juncus maritimus, dominant halophyte

I crossed another wooden footbridge over a tributary creek, and admired views of north-facing Heathcote Valley, Horotane Valley and Avoca Valley in the distance beyond Heathcote River salt marshes.


2009. Heathcote River Estuary & Salt Marsh. Heathcote Valley & Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Shag, Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch


2009. Shag on mudflat, Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch

A young woman walking her black dog passed me while I stood on a riverside wooden platform viewing shags: one perched on a river pole; another stood on a mudflat drying its outstretched wings. Someone had smashed the info board on the platform.

Someone else had gathered river-rubbish and dumped it on the riverbank for collection. On the lower reaches of Heathcote River, the quantity of rubbish and graffiti was less than what I saw on other walks by Woolston Loop and Woolston Barrage.


2009. Heathcote River Estuary rubbish. Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary. Horotane Valley & Avoca Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh. Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch

Behind Ferry Road businesses, I walked beside an avenue of macrocarpas, while Heathcote River curved a big bend round salt marshes in the lower Heathcote Valley. Beneath a macrocarpa, I watched a white faced heron pecking for prey in river mud.


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Salt Marsh. Heathcote Valley & Horotane Valley backdrop, Christchurch


2009. Low Tide Heathcote River Estuary by old Ferry, overlooking Ferrymead & Horotane Valley, Christchurch


2009. High Tide Heathcote River Estuary, overlooking Ferrymead, Heathcote Valley & Horotane Valley, Christchurch

On the last bend Heathcote River flowed past Ferrymead Park, a heritage village, on the opposite bank. Near Ferrymead Bridge where Heathcote River joined Avon-Heathcote Estuary, I stopped at the old Ferry site viewing platform and read an info board describing the history of FERRY ACROSS THE HEATHCOTE, where early European settlers had crossed Heathcote River, after trekking over Port Hills Bridle Path from Lyttelton, trudging down swampy Heathcote Valley... and slogging to Christchurch along potholed, muddy Ferry Road.


2009. Old Ferry Info Board, Old Ferry Site, Heathcote River Estuary, Christchurch

All that was left of the Ferry was concrete and stones on the riverbank and more stones on the opposite riverbank.


2009. Heathcote River Estuary Wildlife Info Board, Old Ferry Site, Christchurch

Another info board was headed LOWER HEATHCOTE RIVER - A RICH FOOD BASKET. The board listed halophytes I'd seen in the salt marshes, including a sea blite, Suaeda novae zelandiae, which I didn't see.

The board also listed birds, most of which I didn't see: kingfisher; godwit; white faced heron; shoveler; Caspian tern; spur wing plover; South Island pied oyster catcher; pied stilt; little cormorant; black cormorant; mallard duck; black backed gull; paradise shelduck.


2009. Old Ferry Site, Settler's Reserve. Ferrymead Bridge in distance, Ferry Road, Christchurch

I crossed another wooden footbridge by the grassy entrance to SETTLERS RESERVE on my left, and walked right to Ferry Road where a sign stated:

HEATHCOTE
TRAIL
WALKWAY


2o09. Settlers Reserve near Ferrymead Bridge, where Heathcote River Estuary joins Avon-Heathcote Estuary, Christchurch

I returned to my car the way I'd come. The walk took me 1 hour 45 minutes, with many stops to view birds, plants, river and valleys.

Coda: The 2010-2011 earthquakes damaged Ferry Rd businesses.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.