Queenstown Lakes harbourmaster Marty Black stands on the
shore of Lake Wanaka yesterday with piles of gravel and
driftwood which have had to be removed from this part of
the foreshore in preparation for the Challenge Wanaka
event. Photo by Lucy Ibbotson.
In the middle of summer, the Queenstown Lakes District
Council is urging residents to think about winter and harvest
firewood washed up on Lake Wakatipu's shore after the recent
heavy rain. Masses of driftwood that had come ashore would make
great firewood, QLDC communications manager Meaghan Miller
said.
She said rather than organising a clean-up only to have the
shore swamped with driftwood again, the council was
encouraging people to stock up their firewood supply, then a
clean-up would be organised.
''We want to make sure we are applying value for money and
only having to do it once,'' Ms Miller said.
She added: ''We do need the water to go down a little bit''
before a clean-up could occur.
''Traditionally, locals have gone and boosted their winter
supply, which makes perfect sense.''
A Bathhouse staff member moves driftwood from in front of
the restaurant yesterday morning. Photo by Christina
McDonald.
She asked people to be conscious of safety issues and to
be careful not to damage any still damp grassed areas. In
Wanaka,
cleaning up was needed sooner rather than later because of
the Challenge Wanaka event this weekend.
QLDC harbourmaster Marty Black was at Lake Wanaka yesterday.
About 200m of the Roys Bay lakefront was tidied by Mr Black's
waterway patrol team on Tuesday evening, clearing the area to
be used for the swimming leg of the Challenge Wanaka event on
Saturday.
Debris was then gathered from the popular stretch of
foreshore (pictured above) between the Log Cabin and Bullock
Creek yesterday afternoon.
''It's public reserve. It gets a lot of use,'' Mr Black said.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.