We’ve enjoyed kiting in the estuary for its flat water and learning but after looking into all of the considerations we’ve realised that this is not acceptable. The request from DOC is that people launch from the beach, not in the Estuary.

The purpose of this blog post is to raise awareness of the bird sanctuary located within the Waikanae Estuary and to provide information as to how we as kiteboarders can minimise our environmental impact.

We’ve compiled the following information for you:

Cultural Significance

In the early 19th century, Te Ātiawa whānau and hapū migrated, along with Ngāti Toa Rangatira and later Ngāti Raukawa, from the conflict and violent region of Kāwhia to Kāpiti.

The area is significant to Māori with the Kūititanga battle: On 16 October 1839, Ngāti Raukawa attacked Waimeha under cover of darkness. The defenders withdrew to Arapawaiti, where reinforcements arrived from the other villages (including from Kenakena pā to the south). The Raukawa war party was forced back in a counter attack.

Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai hold ahi kā, mana whenua and kaitiaki today.

The naming of the Waikanae River itself symbolises the serene nature of this area. The term, Waikanae, has two proverbial meanings. The first:

“Ka ngahae ngā pī, ko Waikanae.” - Staring in amazement, hence Waikanae

This proverb recalls when Haunui-a-Nanaia was crossing the river. It was during a cloudless night in which the stars and moon were prevalent in the skies. When Haunui-a-Nanaia stared into the river waters, he noticed a myriad of Kanae (Mullet) swimming in the shoals. What startled him was that the eyes of the Kanae were gleaming from the reflection of the stars and moon. Haunui-a-Nanaia was ‘staring in amazement’.

The essence of this proverb is also personified by the following proverb:

“Ko tōku waikanaetanga tēnei” - This is my peace and humility

This simple proverb captured by the naming of the river symbolises our relationship to the Waikanae area.

Environmental Situation

The Waikanae Estuary was set up as a Scientific Reserve in 1987 by conservationists who had the foresight to establish protection in light of this increased activity.

The Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve is home to around 60 species of seabirds, which nest on the Spit and roost there through the rest of the year. Where and when they nest is difficult to define in a way that you could limit or map for kiteboarders – the physical environment is changing (including due to increasing impacts of climate change and urbanisation) and the different bird species have different life cycles.

“The tidal area of the Waikanae Estuary comprises one of the more significant unmodified areas for indigenous wildlife habitat in the lower North Island. It’s very high biodiversity value as a habitat for wading and migratory birds has led to the southern portion being gazetted as a Scientific Reserve in the 1980s. However, surrounded as it is by new residential development and with a long history of human activity, the Waikanae Estuary is also a much modified environment, as well as a popular recreational area.”
(Geoff Park, ‘A Landscape Plan for Waikanae Estuary’, 2005)

The Reserve was created to provide a small remnant estuarine environment in face of rapid urban development. The human pressures on that are increasingly intense, with different groups walking dogs, riding horses and motorbikes, driving whitebaiter vehicles, etc. Our public pleas to the community have been to help us reduce such pressures before we lose the Estuary’s values that attract those groups. All the groups feel that their own dog, horse, motorbike, etc isn’t doing any damage, but the Estuary is coping with the cumulative effects. Kiteboarding adds to those pressures, as evidenced by the community reports we have received over years, particularly about disturbance of nesting or roosting birds.

The tūturiwhatu or NZ Dotterel is one of the nesting bird species affected at the Waikanae estuary.

A New Zealand dotterel chick at Waikanae estuary. Photo / Gavin Klee

Kiting Considerations

Kiteboarders should be aware of this fragile ecosystem and that our activity there has an impact.

This is the last sanctuary on the coast which is a rare and diminishing remnant in the context of intense urbanisation. The area in question is the spit in the middle which is dynamically changing due to the weather andis the habitat for around 60 bird species. The most sensitive time is during the nesting period in the spring/summer: 1 Sep to April most sensitive

This is a rather unique situation where kiteboarders seek to ride in an area that offers desirable riding conditions but where the activity can have a significant impact on the environment.

Riders, particularly locals to Waikanae, are understandably the most impacted as this has historically been seen as a good place to ride, but we now have an opportunity to exercise kaitiakitanga and make a difference.

Stakeholders

Acknowledge this shared aspiration of kaitiakitanga is in alignment with that of mana whenua (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa)
Waikanae Estuary Care Group: An active group that works on the restoration and management of the estuary. The local community group is concerned with kiting in the estuary itself. A security camera that is monitoring the estuary 24/7 shows the disturbance caused by kiters within the Estuary itself on many occasions
We work together with DOC under the shared goal of protecting native taonga birds to communicate this information through kiteboarding channels and provide guidance to the community.

DOC prepared a handout in 2022 to help the Waikanae community to communicate these issues to kiteboarders

DOC’s position is that they ‘strongly prefer that the Estuary is not used for kiteboarding’ (SB). DOC says that the ‘Kapiti Marine Reserve provides an adjacent alternative that will have lesser effects – the birds don’t nest or roost generally near the shoreline’
The legal position: kiters are currently allowed to be in the estuary, however it is worth noting that kiting has been banned in areas such as Ruakākā. DOC does have ‘powers to take action under the Wildlife Act where wildlife is harmed, but prefer education and communication’

What can be done

Lessons: Business activities are not allowed within the Waikanae scientific reserve and would require a concession which is unlikely to be approved. If you are unsure then please check with your instructor.
Launching: Please do not launch in the estuary which is inside the reserve and rather launch at the beach and then ride in the sea - see the instructions below.
Riding: Be aware that even when riding upwind of the reserve, you should give > 20m downwind clearance to account for the length of your lines. Below is a picture of a model session.

Connect with the place: White Cloud Water Sports organises an annual volunteer trip to work with the Waikanae Estuary Care Group.

Launching Waikanae side (Tutere Street main carpark)

This is the ideal spot for kite launching and learning. It’s pretty straight forward. Launch well before the DOC sign which keeps kiters away from the designated Scientific Reserve.

Launching Paraparaumu side (Manly Street entrance)

The first photo shows the end of track where the DOC sign is. The last 4 photos show the beach area on the point (near the 2 yellow triangles) where you can launch from (as shown in the Surfr Pro session image). Launching can be difficult here if the tides are big and there is driftwood everywhere so kiters go to Waikanae instead to launch as there is more room.

Conclusion

Our ultimate goal should be to reduce the amount of kiteboarding activity affecting the area. It’s important that we act as a community. If we don’t, it could be lost forever

Waikanae Kiteboarding: Impact on Native Birds