By Sandra Smith

A forest of a different kind …

Our need for adventure is catered for in many ways these days and if you have ever aspired to walk the high wire we have the place just for you! About 20 km north of Wellington City [or 35 km south of Waikanae] in Porirua, is the Adrenalin Forest.

Here, set in a mature pine forest is the adventure site with all you need for excitement.

There are 7 high wire courses that you can try — ranging from ground level to 31 metres in the canopy. There are bridges and barrels to negotiate, swings, wires and nets to cross and what’s not to love about the flying foxes! 

Safety is paramount. A safety harness is fitted and the two carabina type clamps that latch onto the wires operate in such a manner that when one connector is opened the other will remain locked ensuring that you are safe at all times

Mind and body confidence building

It isn’t just a test of your physical ability — nerves and skill will also be tested on this great confidence builder. The brain is challenged in how to navigate the crossed logs, the barrels and the wrecking balls to name but a few of the obstacles.

A basic level of fitness is required and you need to be over 130 cm [4′ 3′] tall, so generally around 12 years old. It’s inspiring to see Mums and Dads out adventuring with their teenagers and, of course, you only need to go to the level that you are comfortable with.

As a bonus, the Adrenalin Forest is located next to the historic Gear Homestead and it is worth a wander around the beautiful grounds as your heart rate clocks back to normal.

This has been running since 1 August and ends on Saturday 31 August. The main modus operandi is that each café and restaurant offers one or more special creations for their customers to try. Full details are here

The participating Waikanae venues are:

Longbeach

Nga Manu

Par Tee (at the Golf Course)

The Salt & Wood

Waimea

This should be a good measure here?

Egyptian eco-startup Go Clean has announced the launch of a joint initiative with Banque du Caire to maintain some of Sahel’s most popular beaches.

The company has installed large fish-shaped trash containers on the beaches of Bianchi, La Vista, and Hacienda Bay to raise awareness about the waste crisis facing our oceans today and collect paper, plastic, and metal waste.

“The idea came to us because the founder of Go Clean, Mohamed Hamdy, is really passionate about the ocean, and now that it is summer, people will be going to the beach and discarding anything and everything into our waters,” says Go Clean PR Director Nancy Moussa. “The trash can is shaped like a fish because we want people to visualize what they are doing when they discard their waste at the beach. It ends up feeding the fish and hurting marine life.”

Go Clean’s team will then proceed to transporting, sorting, and recycling the garbage. The company also announced it would be making charitable donations commensurate with the weight of the waste it collects.

Full article

Although outside of the Waikanae area, the same thing could potentially happen in the parking areas for the hiking trails that begin in Waikanae/Reikorangi.

From the Kapiti Youth Support Facebook page.  Just awful.

On Tuesday this week our Stepping Stones girls group went out for what was supposed to be a great day of outdoors adventure, fresh air, good times and learnings at Otaki Forks… instead, while they were out walking the KYS van was broken into and all the girls gear was stolen — including their phones, laptops and school uniforms.
We are enormously frustrated by the inconvenience and cost this incident has created, and really feel for all those girls who have been affected by this.
If you know or hear anything about this incident, please get in touch with Christina Frantik at KYS on 049059597.

A group of Kapiti Coasters, outraged the Mayor and councilors have slashed the library budget, are determined to have it reinstated.

Lobby group ‘ROBB’ has been established to fight the council’s decision.

ROBB — Restore Our Book Budget — held its first meeting on 19 August 2019.

The trigger was KCDC cutting the book purchase budget by almost HALF; down from $402,500 to $211,000. Many of the 41,000 library members have expressed how deeply upset and disempowered they feel.

The Chair of ROBB, Mr Christopher Ruthe said: “There is proven community support. Over 80% of Kapiti residents are members of our libraries. That is 41,000 out of 52,000 people. This is the highest membership [per capita] in the whole of NZ. We are all proud of that. Yet this Council has treated the 41,000 with contempt. We have been robbed.”

A spokesperson for ROBB said:  “People are upset because there was no consultation. The $402,500 budget was set in the long term plan after consultation as Council is legally required to do. The slashing was done in secret.”

It is seen as the final straw following the forced closure of Waikanae library due to negligent maintenance. The independent Morrison Low Report into that library was scathing in its criticisms of KCDC. The Kapiti News (21 August 2019) in an exposé “Time to demand answers on Library Building Debacle” summarises the Australian report as stating there were “systemic and organizational flaws” along with “a dysfunctional culture within council”.

ROBB believes innocent library members are being made to pay for the Waikanae library building debacle. ROBB says this is unfair and unjust. And worse, it is the readers that are having to pay.

The Chair comments: “The Mayor and Councillors have previously said they are for the health and well being of the community. Yet they cut resources for a most important council facility that achieves this. All the world’s leading neurologists and neuropsychologists agree as to the importance of reading to mental health.” ”

ROBB was seeking to resolve matters by discussion. However it understands that the cut is irreversible with this current Mayor and Councillors.

Faced with the Mayor and Councillors intransigence the only option of registering opposition to the cuts is by  petition and leafletting. It seeks:

• Immediate reversal of the recent funding cut
• Proper funding for new library acquisitions.
• A commitment to increase funding levels at least to the equivalent of Wellington within 6 years.

ROBB is hoping more will join the fight to have adequate libraries and is hoping more will join the fight .

To contact, e-mail : robbkapiti2019@gmail.com ;  kiwibooks17@gmail.com

C.B. Ruthe, Chair

A response from the council to the questions shown (see the earlier post on the Waikanae North playground):

For those interested in really chic children’s playground designs, there’s an illustrated article on the Architectural Digest website here

The extra cost to Ratepayers would not be great, but it would make a significant difference to the small number affected. How much above the living wage level was/is the writer of this letter?