Get on your dancing shoes and get down to the coolest little hall this side of the Waitaki and grab yourself a ticket! The Hooper’s Inlet Hall is having a fundraising dance on the 7th June 2014, 8pm till late. With Live Music from the Wharf St Band bring a plate and a crate for your own drinks and food for the supper table. Tickets are $20 and available from the Portobello Hotel, or call; Jackie 4780508 & 0274 080508 or Michelle 4780611 & 027 2815679
The opening of the Hooper’s Inlet channel by the Dunedin City Council on the 6th of June saw a marked change in the water levels within the inlet. Since the opening work was undertaken the Otago Peninsula has been in the grips of a keen storm front that has swept across from the South Island into the central North Island. Accompanying the storm were high seas and tides and it was worth the chilly walk to see how the channel opening had coped since the original opening.
There has been a marked increase in the width of the channel as the eastern edge has eaten into the existing dunes. This has increased the height of the channel upwards of 3-5 metres in places. Typically of storm periods there was significant debris on the beach which had also been pushed into the inlet. Noticeable too has been the increase in water around the old channel position across the beach, though it was difficult to see whether it had reopened back into the sea. There is still extensive water movement in and out of the channel and visitors should be cautious while visiting the area. Certainly the recent tidal and wind conditions along with the water movement have altered the area and it will be interesting to see how the channel changes once the weather calms down into spring and summer. The pictures taken here were at high tide on Sunday the 23rd July. Click on pictures to view in gallery.
Compare the pictures from the initial opening.
Peninsula teenager Raphael Kammlein-Cutler from Hooper’s Inlet has been confirmed for the New Zealand Downhill mountain biking team to represent NZ at the IUC World championships in South Africa this year. Raphael has also been selected as one of 3 mountain-bikers and 5 other top junior cyclists from other cycling disciplines as a member of an excellence in sport NZ Team Academy programme at the Sport Otago High Performance Centre.
In June, July and August he and fellow junior downhiller, Lawrence Cawte from Rotorua, will be based in Morzine (France) for training and racing IXS Swiss/European cup and world cup races in Europe with the aim to build up for the world championships. Raphael was overall under 19 winner of the Down-Hill Southern Series on the tough Clyde, Signal Hill, Queenstown and Cardrona tracks. He was also the winner of the NZ Open in Christchurch and gained a second place in the second round of the NZ National Cup Downhill series on the exposed and muddy Bluff Hill track.
Raphael has had his share of injuries, with a couple of bad falls in training and a broken hand meant he missed most of the national series. He had only a week to prepare for the Oceania’s in Tasmania where a bad fall brought home the need to do more work on his recovery. Now back into training and supported by former Olympian Kashi Leuchs and Greg Leov at Bike Otago, Raphael has been focussed and determined to show the selectors he can make it in international competition.
Raphael achieved a very pleasing 4th placing in the Junior Elite at the IXS Swiss cup race at Morgins and was fastest NZ junior at the 2013 World Cup race. He’s enjoying a little less pressure and more fun as he and 7 other Kiwis, race in the IXS European cup race in Austria before returning to Morzine. While based in Morzine the team will train, ride and eat down-hill as they prepare to wear the New Zealand jersey at round 3 of the World Cup Downhill in Andorra and the 2013 World Championships at Pietersmaritzburg, South Africa. A great achievement Raphael, we look forward to hearing more from your events with the Kiwi team.
The opening of Hooper’s Inlet Channel on Thursday 6th of June by the Dunedin City Council has had a noticeable effect on the water levels of the inlet over the weekend. The Dunedin City Council undertook the work to ensure access over the road was not blocked by flooding. The inlet issue has been one that has inconvenienced back bay residents for some time.
Todays photographs were taken near to high tide and there was significant surge in and out of the newly dug channel. With winter tide and weather conditions it will be interesting to see how effective the work is and whether the old channel also opens up. Visitors to the area should be watchful of the tide conditions and the strength of the water coming in and out of the channel. Click on the photographs to view.
Get on your dancing shoes and get down to the coolest little hall this side of the Waitaki and grab yourself a ticket! The Hooper’s Inlet Hall is having a fundraising dance on the 11th May 2013, 8pm till late. With Live Music from Free and Easy, bring a plate and a crate for your own drinks and food for the supper table. Tickets are $20 and available from the Portobello Hotel, or call;
Jackie 4780508 & 0274 080508
Michelle 4780611 & 027 2815679
The blocked outlet of Hooper’s Inlet has been an issue on the Peninsula for some time now. The issue has been one that has frustrated local residents as the responsibility for its management is volleyed between the Otago Regional Council and the Dunedin City Council. Both local authorities seem hamstrung between their own responsibilities, policy and legislative requirements and a fundamental lack of funding to undertake the work.
The issue of responsibility for opening the inlet seems set to continue if both organisations can’t escape their fear of “precedence” that will bind them to the continued financial management of the inlet in the future. However, that argument seems shallow when compared to the actual number of times physical works to open the channel has been required over the last 25 years. What is certain though is that the road and property assets of the Peninsula are effected by the choking of the channel, which creates difficulties and stresses for many local people. These issues may become more pronounced as we move towards winter. Other concerns also arise in terms of the recreational, water quality, biodiversity and scenic qualities of the inlet if the current situation continues. All of these factors affect our quality of life and that of our environment.
Funding for the clearance of the channel is at present the most obvious constraint for the Otago Regional Council. The Peninsula community must send a clear message to the Council that this issue needs resolving. Otherwise a simple problem may develop more complex and costly implications if it is not dealt with effectively and meaningfully. Annual Plan submissions for the Otago Regional Council close by 5pm on Friday 3 May 2013, and residents should take the time to voice the needs of their community over the Hooper’s Inlet issue.
You can email, fax or post your submission to;
Email: annual.plan@orc.govt.nz
Post: Draft Annual Plan Otago Regional Council Private Bag 1954, Dunedin 9054
Fax: (03) 479-0015
The forms for submission can be downloaded below.
Portobello Community 