Westland District, Hokitika

Need some help or advice?

Need some help or advice?

 Ask your neighbours by posting on Neighbourly!

69 days ago

Win this brand new home!

Heart Foundation Lottery

For only $15 a ticket, you could win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home located in breathtaking Blenheim, Marlborough.

Valued at over $1 million, this home features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area. It is waiting to be loved by its new … View more
For only $15 a ticket, you could win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home located in breathtaking Blenheim, Marlborough.

Valued at over $1 million, this home features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area. It is waiting to be loved by its new owner.

Make this property your permanent residence, a holiday home, a rental, or simply sell it!

Get your tickets today at heartlottery.org.nz
Find out more

Image
70 days ago

Maintaining independence as we age

Kevin Hickman Retirement Village

As we age, mobility and health issues can affect daily routines and independence. It’s natural to want to step in when a loved one faces challenges with tasks they once managed easily. However, instead of taking over completely, finding a balance that offers support while still encouraging … View moreAs we age, mobility and health issues can affect daily routines and independence. It’s natural to want to step in when a loved one faces challenges with tasks they once managed easily. However, instead of taking over completely, finding a balance that offers support while still encouraging independence is key.

Chris Sinclair, Ryman's Community Liaison Leader, shares helpful tips for families and caregivers on how to promote independence and support overall wellbeing.

Click read more for the full article.

Image
73 days ago

Toadstool table

Resene

It’s a lot of fun (and easy) to turn a terracotta plant pot and saucer into your very own toadstool table with Resene Poppy and Resene Alabaster paint.

Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.
Find out more

Image
74 days ago

Successful pest control effort to seek charity status

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporting:

West Coast Regional councillors have agreed in principle to hand over the management of its successful Predator Free Te Kinga project to a charitable trust.

Over the past four years the council has led the pest control mission over 17,000 hectares of public and … View more
By local democracy reporting:

West Coast Regional councillors have agreed in principle to hand over the management of its successful Predator Free Te Kinga project to a charitable trust.

Over the past four years the council has led the pest control mission over 17,000 hectares of public and private land around the mountain, funded by a $4.4m Provincial Growth Fund grant in 2020.

The project has had strong buy-in from local farmers.

And the council’s Resource Management committee heard on Tuesday that the project involving Lake Brunner landowners, DOC and local schools is nearing its goal of eliminating possums from Mount Te Kinga.

The last one should be gone by early next year, the council’s environmental science manager Shanti Morgan told the meeting.

The network of self-setting traps, bait stations and cameras managed by the council company Vector Control Services had proved highly effective and native species were returning including kaka, fernbirds, New Zealand falcon.

A bittern and a lone female great spotted kiwi had also been sighted, Morgan said.

But plenty of other pests remained in the area including rats, stoats, feral cats and deer.

A 1080 aerial drop planned for the mountain soon should bring a high rate of kill, she said.

But Predator Free 2050 had confirmed it had no funding for the future maintenance of the Te Kinga project, and the remaining $1.6 million PGF money had to be spent by July next year.

“We need to expand the funding options, and be part of a charitable entity,” Morgan said.

As a non-council enterprise, the Te Kinga project would be eligible for funding from charities and philanthropic sources, and could still contract the council’s business arm, Vector Control Servies to manage the pest control.

Councillor Peter Ewen said he was sceptical that the Predator Free 2050 goal could be achieved and asked if the lone kiwi on Te Kinga should be moved before the 1080 drop.

Morgan referred the councillor to the 1080 investigation by Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright in 2011 which had found the biodiversity benefits of 1080 far outweighed any risks.

“I am confident we can make Te Kinga predator free by 2050,” Ms Morgan said.

The two iwi reps on the committee weighed in with differing perspectives.

Makaawhio representative Jackie Douglas said the iwi was not keen on 1080 but cooperated reluctantly with its use.

Te Waewae chairperson Francois Tumahai said his iwi fully supported the use of 1080 and the setting up of a trust to continue the Te Kinga project after 2025.

The committee voted to approve in principle the setting up of the charitable entity.

*LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

Image
77 days ago

Changing the conversation around dementia

Kevin Hickman Retirement Village

Reducing stigma starts with the words we use, and shifting the way we talk about dementia is a powerful step forward. This World Alzheimer’s Month, Ryman is highlighting the importance of reducing the discrimination caused by stigma surrounding people living with dementia.

Caroline Bartle, … View more
Reducing stigma starts with the words we use, and shifting the way we talk about dementia is a powerful step forward. This World Alzheimer’s Month, Ryman is highlighting the importance of reducing the discrimination caused by stigma surrounding people living with dementia.

Caroline Bartle, Ryman’s Dementia Care and Innovations Lead, says that using appropriate language when referring to people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia can foster a more inclusive society. This not only benefits those experiencing cognitive decline but also their families and the wider community.

Click read more for the full article.

Image
79 days ago

Be Loved this Spring! Reduced fee dog adoptions at SPCA start today

The Team from SPCA Hokitika - Op Shop

From 5-20 October only, SPCA dog and puppy adoption fees are 25% off. Plus, every dog adopter gets a free Simparica Trio flea, tick & worm treatment, and discount voucher.

We have more than 300 adoption-ready dogs and puppies nationwide, waiting for their happy forever after.

Visit … View more
From 5-20 October only, SPCA dog and puppy adoption fees are 25% off. Plus, every dog adopter gets a free Simparica Trio flea, tick & worm treatment, and discount voucher.

We have more than 300 adoption-ready dogs and puppies nationwide, waiting for their happy forever after.

Visit www.spca.nz... to start your journey together.

80 days ago

Poll: Is it okay to grocery shop in your PJs?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

I'm sure you've seen it while doing your weekly shop... In fact, it may have even been you.

What do you think about people heading to the supermarket in their pyjamas?

Image
Is it okay to grocery shop in your PJs?
  • 15.2% It's fine!
    15.2% Complete
  • 74.7% It's questionable
    74.7% Complete
  • 10.1% Other - I'll share below
    10.1% Complete
2197 votes
87 days ago

Poll: Should employees be able to work from home?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

At the post-Cabinet press conference, the National Party asserted they want public sector staff to return to the office. This has opened a conversation about other sectors in New Zealand who have adopted working from home (WFH).

Where possible, do you think employees should be able to work from … View more
At the post-Cabinet press conference, the National Party asserted they want public sector staff to return to the office. This has opened a conversation about other sectors in New Zealand who have adopted working from home (WFH).

Where possible, do you think employees should be able to work from home? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments.

Image
Should employees be able to work from home?
  • 72.4% Yes
    72.4% Complete
  • 24.3% No
    24.3% Complete
  • 3.3% Other - I'll share below
    3.3% Complete
3216 votes
80 days ago

Tray chic

Resene

Repurpose an old picture frame and serve up a message of love to family or friends with Resene colours, Resene FX Blackboard Paint and Resene FX Paint Effects Medium.

Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.
Find out more

Image
82 days ago

NZTA and Franz Josef farmers say south bank stopbanks crucial

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:

Abandoning efforts to protect Franz Josef farmers from the Waiho River would imperil the West Coast’s famed tourist route – State Highway 6, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is warning.

NZTA has responded to challenges from Franz Josef’s … View more
By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:

Abandoning efforts to protect Franz Josef farmers from the Waiho River would imperil the West Coast’s famed tourist route – State Highway 6, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is warning.

NZTA has responded to challenges from Franz Josef’s north bank ratepayers, who face big rate rises to protect their neighbours living and farming across the river on the Waiho Flats.

Businessman Logan Skinner and others have queried the point of spending $10 million in government and ratepayer funds to strengthen southern stopbanks, when the river clearly wants to head south to its natural flood plain.

But NZTA says the stop bank network on both sides of the river has to be seen as one joined-up system, including Waka Kotahi’s massive flood walls that run beside SH6.

“There’s no point NZTA raising our stop banks alone if any of the other banks protecting the state highway are lower," NZTA's South Island manager Mark Pinner said.

“Any low point in a stop bank upstream of the state highway could compromise the road, so we need to have joined up or consistently uniform design levels and construction for the north and south stop banks as a whole.”

NZTA was working with the West Coast Regional Council to look at longer term options for the road and the river, he said.

But in the meantime the southern stop banks needed to match the height of the northern ones to prevent overtopping if the river moved channels, Pinner said.

“This can happen in any larger flood, given this is one of the most dynamic braided river systems in the country.”

South bank dairy farmer Neil Frendrup said contrary to Skinner’s argument, the prospect of abandoning the Waiho Flats made no economic sense.

“We produce 391kg of milk solids a year from our farm alone, and I don’t know how much the dry stock farms produce but there’s a hell of a lot of food coming off the south bank.”

Frendrup’s 1000 cows feed on his 600 hectares of grass, but he lost 30 hectares of pasture to the river a couple of years ago, when the river came around the end of the existing Milton stop bank.

The 83-year-old was hoping to sell the farm and retire this year, but his hopes were dashed after the government ruled out a buyout of his $3.7m CV property, and others on the flats.

“Then there was talk of abandoning the south bank and no-one’s gonna buy land they think could be destroyed so like it or not we’ve got to be here a bit longer."

Losing productive farms was not the only risk involved of letting the river roam over the Waho Flats – it could also unleash environmental mayhem, Frendrup said.

“There’s an old rubbish dump on our side, and if the river got into that the stuff that came out of the old Fox dump would be nothing compared to the Franz one.”

(Tonnes of rubbish were washed downstream in 2019 when a flood broke open an old landfill on the banks of the Fox River, costing $3m for a three-year clean-up job.)

The idea of re-routing SH6 to the east and abandoning the Flats which had been suggested in the past, was also a bad one, Frendrup said.

“Doing away with the stopbank and putting the main road along the base of the Alps doesn’t seem very sensible to me, when the Alpine Fault is overdue for its 300 year major quake.“

After farming the south bank and watching the river for 16 years, Frendrup thinks the solution is relatively simple.

“They need to extend the (south side) Milton and Others stopbank about 200 metres and bulldoze a track for the river closer to the (north side) hill, going down to the sea so it can flow in a channel closer to the north bank."

West Coast Regional Council chairperson Peter Haddock said the plan to strengthen the southern stop banks was based on advice from its technical advisory group, which analysed years of reports on the Waiho.

“The experts advised that would give at least 10 years protection to south side community, while the Westland District Council did a master plan aimed at relocating houses as river gradually released to the south."

But the government focus had since changed from buyouts to holding the line with stop banks, Haddock said.

The council had lobbied hard and Minister Shane Jones had allocated $6m for the project, with all Franz Josef ratepayers asked to chip in $4m.

“The north side now has its stopbank but the south side is still vulnerable,” Haddock said.

“And it’s a large contributor to the local and West Coast economy.”

*LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

82 days ago

Join us at our Walk in Wednesdays

Kevin Hickman Retirement Village

Join us any Wednesday in October and November, 10am - 3pm and experience the Ryman lifestyle that awaits.

Learn about our living options, tour our show homes and discover the wonderful amenities on offer.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Image
91 days ago

Poll: How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

For most of us, seeing a friendly doggo while out and about instantly brings a smile to our faces. But how do you feel about cafes welcoming pups inside?

Cast a vote and share your thoughts below.

Image
How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?
  • 26.5% I love it!
    26.5% Complete
  • 31.4% Only in designated areas
    31.4% Complete
  • 42.1% No, it should be outdoors only.
    42.1% Complete
4107 votes
85 days ago

New lottery, new home

Heart Foundation Lottery

Soak up the Marlborough sun with the Heart Foundation Lottery.

For just $15 a ticket, you could win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home in breathtaking Blenheim.

Surrounded by stunning mountain views, this home features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a spacious open-plan kitchen,… View more
Soak up the Marlborough sun with the Heart Foundation Lottery.

For just $15 a ticket, you could win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home in breathtaking Blenheim.

Surrounded by stunning mountain views, this home features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a spacious open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area.

Get your tickets today at heartlottery.org.nz.
Find out more

Image
87 days ago

Double-duty seed tray

The Team from Resene ColorShop Timaru

Make a handy seed tray that can also double as a mini propagator. Finish in Resene Waterborne Woodsman Silvered Grey for a sleek look. Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.

Image
Top