Conservation damage light

BY DAVID WILLIAMS

Conservation reserves and facilities in and around Christchurch are holding up well after Saturday's earthquake but the public is still being warned to stay away.

Mahaanui area manager Bryan Jensen said apart from the Otukaikino reserve and the Godley tunnel track, conservation areas were looking "pretty good".

"Initial inspections are showing that the damage certainly is not as extensive as it might have been," he said.

"We still suggest that the public be very conscious when venturing out, particularly into any buildings or structures.

"We're still getting around them all and we should be giving a final clearance in the next day or two."

At Otukaikino reserve, a 13 hectare wetlands at the southern of the northern motorway, near Belfast, the water level had risen significantly and a boardwalk had become detached from its piles and bearers.

There had been three slips at the Godley tunnel track, which goes to a lighthouse at the sea edge.

"I would recommend people should stay away from these areas," Jensen said.

The Mahaanui area office in Sockburn is open but the Canterbury conservancy office in Hereford Street is closed.

The Mahaanui area is spread over 636,540 hectares of Banks Peninsula and the Canterbury Plains, and includes Christchurch city.

The office is responsible for nine historic reserves, including the Quail Island immigration barracks, Fort Jervois on Ripapa Island and the Godley Head military sites.

Further afield, the Sharplin Falls track at Mt Somers is closed after three significant rockfalls. However, the Pinnacles (19 bunks) and Woolshed Creek (26 bunks) huts on the Mt Somers Track were fine.

Visitor asset ranger Jeff Coulter, of the Geraldine-based Raukapuka area, said one of the historic Staveley lime kilns had been damaged by the September 4 earthquake and was off limits to the public.

The 9m high "pot kiln", which was built in 1898, had suffered significant damage, he said.

"When I was there [on Saturday] there was an aftershock and I could see it shaking around and bits falling off it."

The area office would approach community groups to help with any restoration effort.

- © Fairfax NZ News