Ryde Falls, Mt Oxford

Ever since our arrival in NZ 16 years ago, we didn't have money to go on expensive holidays. In between tenants, Leah's teaching colleague sometimes lent us her Oxford cottage, so we got away from 2010-2011 quakes for short times.


28.12.11. Birds nest in verandah lamp, Oxford cottage


28.12.11. Summer daisies, grass, clover, Oxford paddock

October last, we'd tried to walk to Ryde Falls from Coopers Creek, about 6 kms one way, but turned back after a couple of hours. Spring rains had muddied tracks & we became tired of sludging through mud.


28.12.11. Rustic bus stop, between Coopers Creek & View Hill

Wed 28.12.11. Five days post 23.12.11 quake swarm, which had hit Christchurch just before Xmas, we were back at Oxford. We succeed in reaching Ryde Falls that attempt. Walk time: 4 hours return.


28.12.11. Paddock & Torlesse Range, seen from View Hill road

From Oxford I drove to View Hill car park:

Caution: The dirt road to View Hill car park degraded the closer we got to Mt Oxford. We drove over a couple of fords, the first ford was OK, concrete lined. The second ford, I waded first & found one side was deep, the other side OK to drive across in our Toyota Corolla.

The farm road narrowed & became deeply rutted the closer to View Hill car park we went. In places, there were steep drops on one side of the farm road.

I drove through 4 farm gates en route, tedious for gate-opener & closer, Leah.

View Hill car park: Westward views to snowless Torlesse Range & eastward views across Canterbury Plains to Port Hills & Banks Peninsula peaks. We scrutinized the DOC track map board at the car park. We found tracks to Ryde Falls were well marked by DOC signs & recommended walking times fitted our walking pace.


28.12.11. DOC Wharfdale Track sign & map board, View Hill car park


28.12.11. Wharfdale Track, Mt Oxford view of Torlesse Range

From View Hill car park we wandered along Wharfdale Track, through beech forest, gently rising up Mt Oxford. Soon we came upon a stile & a DOC sign stating:

OXFORD FOREST
CONSERVATION AREA


28.12.11. DOC sign, Wharfdale Track, Mt Oxford


Further on in beech forest, at track junctions, we came upon more DOC sign boards, showing tracks & walking times: Link Track; Coopers Creek; Ryde Falls; Wharfdale Track; Wharfdale Hut; Mt Oxford Summit; Korimako Track; Townshend Track...


28.12.11. DOC sign, Wharfdale Track, Mt Oxford


We wandered beech forest along Korimako Track to Ryde Falls. Along the way we saw beeches; rimu; matai; mingimingi; creamy white, flowering kanukas; broadleafs; wineberries... Trackside, we had to watch out for prickly bush lawyers & tree nettle sprouts. Many shrubs & trees had green berries ripening...


28.12.11. Kanuka flowers, Wharfdale Track, Mt Oxford

The tracks were muddy in places, but less than a couple of months before. We prodded mud holes with our walking sticks, mud usually about 10 cm deep & crossed carefully. We saw fallen trees in undergrowth, with vertical root pans clogged with stones & soil, a mixing of mountain soils. Tracks were well maintained, fallen trees chopped up & logs placed as erosion stoppers.


28.12.11. Beech forest ferns, Korimako Track, Mt Oxford


28.12.11. Korimako Track / Ryde Falls Track junction, beech forest, Mt Oxford


28.12.11. Beech forest, Ryde Falls Track, Mt Oxford


28.12.11. Broadleaf tree sign, Ryde Falls Track, Mt Oxford

A feature of our walk to Ryde Falls was understorey fern growth: spring fronds were lighter green, above older, darker green, fern leaves, masses & masses of understorey ferns...


28.12.11. Duckboard bridge & fern undergrowth in beech forest, Ryde Falls Track, Mt Oxford

At another track junction, we forked off from Korimako Track to Ryde Falls Track. Through beech forest, we wandered across several duck board bridges, crossing streams. Some streams we just rock-hopped across.


28.12.11. Fallen tree across Ryde Falls Track, Mt Oxford


Descending a beech gully to Ryde Falls, we became sand fly bait. We were told in Oxford that sand flies were pesky that season. Leah wore longs & slathered her arms in sand fly repellant. My bare legs were just chomped.


28.12.11. Beech forest stream below Ryde Falls, Mt Oxford



28.12.11. Wineberry tree sign, Ryde Falls, Mt Oxford


28.12.11. Ryde Falls, Mt Oxford


We met more wanderers at Ryde Falls. A family climbed the slippery track, through undergrowth, going up Ryde Falls. Leah & I climbed half way up, then turned back, as my jandals were unsuitable for climbing. Too dangerous for my liking. Over the last year, we'd had enough dangers in quaking Christchurch to last us a life time. From bottom pools, we took pics of Ryde Falls.


28.12.11. Ryde Falls, Mt Oxford


Riverside, a man & his wife walked their 3 Swiss, Saanen goats. The buck & does were white. Both genders had horns. The 7 year old buck had magnificent, curled horns. Leah said the goatee bearded man was a goat, as she doubted DOC would approve of goat walking & goats chomping beech forest vegetation.


28.12.11. Saanen goats, Ryde Falls, Mt Oxford


On our return walk, back to View Hill car park, we were pleased to get away from pesky sand flies. As it was holiday time, several afternoon walkers passed us to & from Ryde Falls. Other walks I'd done on Mt Oxford, during school term times, I'd had Mt Oxford tracks to myself.


28.12.11. Wharfdale Track, beech forest view of Torlesse Range


28.12.11. View Hill view of Torlesse Range, start of Wharfdale Track


From View Hill car park, on the farm road back to Oxford, we came upon a car driven off the rutted road by a SUV. Not enough road space for 2 vehicles to pass abreast. The SUV was busy towing the car backwards from the lip of a slope.

Thereafter we drove behind the car, a girl passenger opened the 4 farm gates, Leah closed. Easier for Leah.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

Year 2 CERA. Psychological John Key. Muddy Parklands East, 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm

Parklands East focus. The Press 24.12.11, PM John Key generalised while on Hawaii holiday: "What we can conclude is that the most significant damage from the earthquakes is really the psychological damage and the impact on the confidence of the people of Christchurch." Key couldn't possibly know my mind, nor Leah's mind, nor Jake's & Luke's minds & what caused our behaviour & impacted our confidence. Key couldn't possibly know the minds of other quake survivors. The 1 000s of quakes we'd endured over the last 15 months were not psychological. The joltings, shakings, rumblings, liquefactions, damages were real. As real as wind blown, liquefaction grit in my hair & beard & the dirt on my bare feet, after I trekked ravaged quakelands.

Key should wander Parklands, feeling mud oozing between his toes. Smell shit in quakemired streets. Smell roses in shitty streets too. Key should see citizens once more digging mud away from homes & tell them that's psychological!

Post June 13 Quake, I'd trekked Parklands a bit, it was obvious many houses were built on beach sand. Despite clean up, liquefaction remnants at Parklands post June 13 Quake were brown & sandy, unlike the CBD's grey liquefaction silt. Again, I wanted to see what had happened to Parklands, but soon post 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm, before liquefaction damages were sanitized by CERA.

Boxing Day, 26.12.11. Early morn I drove east along Queen Elizabeth 11 Dr. Further on, 10km from my Burnside home, along Travis Dr by Travis Wetland, I descended into swampland, liquefaction land to the coast. Orange, plastic, road cone cordons sprouted.

Parklands was close to the coast. I drove along once more liquefactioned Bower Ave past weedy EQC porta-cabin offices at QE11 Park entrance. Snapped quake sinkholes, roadside liquefaction flooding, quakemire heaps, cracked mud on pavements.

Post June 13 Quake, when I'd seen QE11 Park, the park & surrounding roads were a mass of sinkholes & quakemire.

Bower Ave / Flemington Ave: Snapped 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm, liquefaction damage, quakemire heaped on roadsides, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned.


26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm, nr Flemington Ave cnr


26.12.11. Flemington Ave liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm

Bower Ave: Due to 23.12.11 Xmas Quake, liquefaction damage, traffic was detoured via Pinewood Ave & Beach Rd back to Bower Ave.


26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave detour by Pinewood Ave, due to 23.12.11 quake swarm, liquefaction damage

26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave liquefaction damage, sinkhole nr Beach Rd, 23.12.11 quake swarm






Bower Ave: Many quake cracks & sinkholes I saw in Parklands that morn were 1-2m deep, grave size, or bigger. Many liquefaction heaps were higher than cars.


26.12.11. Bower Ave flooding, liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave sinkhole, liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm





Dec 23 Xmas Quake liquefaction looked as bad as June 13 Quake liquefaction I'd seen. Parked, Bower Ave / Queenspark Dr, by Waimari Beach Golf Club, liquefactioned gate & muddy golf course. Relatives who lived on Queenspark Dr told us the Dec 23 Xmas Quake Swarm shook their house, throwning items around. (2020. With his girlfriend, Jake would move to a flat at Cottonwood St off Queenspark Dr, Parklands Reserve view, a more stable abode than where he'd lived in damaged flats).


26.12.11. Liquefactioned carpark entrance, Waimairi Beach Golf Club, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave liquefaction damage, nr Queenspark Dr cnr, 23.12.11 quake swarm


Figure 8 trekked liquefactioned Parklands roads: Bower Ave towards Bottle Lake Forest Park. Snapped mud heaps, sinkholes, cracked road & pavements, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned. Uncleared quakemire, knee high in places. Farm Ln: Muddy. Rue De La Mare: Muddy.


26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Farm Ln, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Rue De La Mare, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave, nr Rue De La Mare, 23.12.11 quake swarm


Bower Ave: Snapped early morning joggers, walkers, some early mud shovellers & barrow bods. No sign of vaunted Student Volunteer Army diggers, nor Farmy Army volunteer diggers, as in other quakes. Two sucker trucks rumbled by slurping shekels. Again. Water tanker drove past, laying liquefaction dust. Crofts Ln: Brown mud.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Crofts Ln, 23.12.11 quake swarm



26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Park Estate, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm






Bower Ave: Forest Park Estate housing, deeply liquefactioned. One section, only half the road was mud cleared, the other side still lumpy, quakemired. Pavements, covered in drying mud, driveways muddy, some cleared, some still being cleared. Roads off Bower Ave, deeply liquefactioned.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Park Estate, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm















End of Bower Ave, I chatted to a tall, grizzled man, who'd dug mud away from his garden, driveway & verge on Xmas Day, his garden immaculate. Quakemire all around, knee-high mud on the road. He inquired where I lived, why I was snapping pics?

I said, "My wife's Scottish cousin, in Nairn, told us there was no UK news about our Dec 23 Xmas Quake Swarm. No deaths, no international news. I'm snapping blog pics to show her what's happening. Despite mud, gardens are beautiful, filled with flowers."

He pointed to his neighbour's rose garden. In the road, muddy sinkhole, water-filled, scummy. "Good luck to you," I said, trekking on.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Park Estate, nr Broadhaven Reserve & Bottle Lake Forest Park, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


Broadhaven Ave, near Broadhaven Reserve: Quakemire partly cleared. Sinkholes. Mud diggers. Roads off Broadhaven Ave, deeply liquefactioned. Quakemire lessened the further I trekked W from the coast.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, nr Broadhaven Reserve, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave, seen from Bower Ave junction, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, black, plastic, sewage tank, Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Sinkhole, liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave, looking towards Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave by Broadhaven Reserve, 23.12.11 quake swarm







A lost contractor driving a SUV asked for directions to QE11 Park. I hopped into his SUV & directed him at liquefactioned Broadhaven Ave / Inwoods Rd.


26.12.11. 30 km/h speed limit. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave, nr Inwoods Rd junction, 23.12.11 quake swarm



Inwoods Rd: Roughly parallel to Bower Ave, many liquefactioned roads in between. Not so muddy, like Arosa Pl & Bottle Lake Dr, which I'd muddily trudged post June 13 Quake.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave / Inwoods Rd, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction damage, Inwoods Rd, 23.12.11 quake swarm



26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Inwoods Rd / Arosa Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Green, plastic, sewage tank, Inwoods Rd / Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Serial quake shaken, but not liquefactioned, Queenspark Dr housing, 23.12.11 quake swarm

Queenspark Dr to Bower Ave again: Little quakemire up to the shopping centre. Before the shopping centre, in Parklands Reserve carpark, a leaky water tanker parked, with a pipe for 6 taps. Sign:

WATER MUST BE
BOILED BEFORE
          USE


26.12.11. Post quake water tanker, Parklands Reserve, Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm



26.12.11. Supermarket. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Library. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, nr shops, 23.12.11 quake swarm




Shopping centre & Council library, liquefactioned. Closer to Bower Ave again, massive liquefaction. Mud everywhere. Lamorna Rd: Muddy. Hurst Pl:: Huge quakemire pile. Near Bower Ave, Land Rover parked in roadside mud.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Lamorna Rd / Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, between Lamorna Rd & Hurst Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm





26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr / Hurst Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm




26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, between Hurst Pl & Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm










Drove up liquefactioned Bower Ave & along liquefactioned Broadhaven Ave, where I'd just trekked & parked by Forest Dr. I wanted to see more Parklands damage, and complete a smaller circuit of my figure 8 trek.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr / Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Quake crack, liquefaction damage, Bower Ave, nr Boadhaven Ave cnr, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction, sinkhole damage, Broadhaven Ave / Bottle Lake Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm

Forest Dr: As liquefactioned as Bower Ave: Quakemired sinkholes, roadsides, pavements. Part cleared road & driveways. Liquefaction, bad at Courtfield Cl junction & down Courtfield Cl. Some men wore gloves while digging. Park Estate catastrophe.

Floral decorations: Parklands citizens decorated orange, plastic, road cones, two months before it would be fashionable decorating orange, plastic, road cones with flowers honouring 185 quake dead during 22.02.11 quake. Snapped Xmas tinsel & floral decorations on several orange, plastic, road cones, brightening grey quakemire.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave / Forest Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm





26.12.11. Liquefactioned Broadhaven Reserve, seen from Forest Dr / Courtfield Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm. Bottle Lake Forest Park beyond


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr / Courtfield Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm



26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr, between Courtfield Cl & Monterey Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm







Trekked quakemire past Broadhaven Park, past muddy, sinkholed Monterey Pl, to Anglesea Ave & back, past Inwoods Rd, Inwoods Cl & a repeat bit of muddy Broadhaven Ave, past a house demolition site, to my muddy car.


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr / Monterey Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm





26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr, between Monterey Pl & Anglesea Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Green, plastic, sewage tank, Broadhaven Ave, nr Inwoods Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Inwoods Cl / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm


26.12.11. House demolition site, Broadhaven Ave, nr Inwoods Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm

Drove home via muddy Bower Ave again, past a parked fire engine & firemen calming a woman, distressed about a water-filled sinkhole outside her quakemired home.


26.12.11. Fire engine. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave, nr Broadhaven Ave cnr, 23.12.11 quake swarm

26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm. Broadhaven Reserve & Bottle Lake Forest Park beyond

In October before the 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm, CERA designated Parklands roads I trekked to be green zone: Repaired housing would need TC3 foundations, meaning damaged land was liquefaction prone, requiring stronger foundations. And continued fat rates for Council.

Why was Parklands sandy swampland developed? University & tech studies & Council consents were behind quake reality. But developers & Council profited.

CERA Landcheck website, I looked up Parklands roads: Forest Dr, Courtfield Cl, Monterey Pl, Bower Ave, Broadhaven Ave. They were all green zoned by geotech engineers, Tonkin & Taylor!

Back to Burnside, I drove along Frosts Rd, by Travis Wetland, past another QE11 Park gate, quake flooded since the Feb 22 Killer Quake. Travis Wetland claimed its own across Frosts Rd & into trashed QE11 Park. (2022: That quake sunk area beside Frosts Rd would still flood after heavy rains.)

Official response to 23.12.11 Xmas Quake destruction: CERA boss Sutton flew in a helicopter over the disaster area & said it was bad. Other officials holiday bullshitted, like Key's "psychological damage." 24.12.11. The Press headline: "New quakes vindicate land decisions Brownlee." Misinformation, as Parklands was zoned green by CERA & dug itself out of quakemire after 3 quakes. Did that vindicate NZ National govt land decisions? Brownlee was on holiday & returned to Christchurch soon post quake. Mayor Parker returned from his holiday in Taupo, mouthing inanities on 23.12.11 TV, as facile as deputy mayor Button had done on TV. Council CEO Marryatt on holiday in Queensland didn't bother to return, despite public fury at his recently announced salary increase. Marryatt's Council minions had done some silt digging & piling of silt on roadsides, on 24.12.11, the day after Xmas Quake Swarm began. Xmas Day & Boxing Day, no digging by authorities.

Xmas afternoon, after dropping off Luke & his girlfriend at New Brighton, Leah & I did a Parklands recce. I'd driven some of the roads I would trek the next day, Boxing Day. We saw no Council workers, nor CERA contractors in Hi-Vis vests digging mud on Xmas Day.

Boxing day, when I trekked for about 3 hours, 8-11am, all I saw was one water tanker spraying water on Bower Ave by Forest Park Estate. Two mechanical diggers were parked on mud there. There were no Council workers, nor CERA contractors in Hi-Vis vests removing silt wherever I walked on Boxing day morning. Just local residents mud digging.

Over the last 15 months, quakes moved from W to E from Canterbury Plains across Christchurch & Port Hills & were presently active in Pegasus Bay.

*Trekked Bower Ave, Broadhaven Ave, Inwoods Rd, Queenspark Dr, Forest Dr. 152 snaps.

Coda:

Sun 14.02.16. Valentines Day, M5.7 quake. Deja Vu. Liquefaction damage, sinkholes, sewage leaks at Bower Ave, Broadhaven Ave, Hurst Pl, Courtfield Cl & Linkwater Way.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

See Flooded Christchurch area can't be fixed - expert (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Parklands zoning right, engineer says - Tonkin & Taylor engineer (The Press / Stuff Co).