Waka Kotahi has issued an up-date on SH59 as at 11.42 today, saying the road will remain closed until further notice.
Radio NZ reported the road will re-open on Thursday.
SH59 Pukerua Bay to Paekakariki remaining closed Read More »
SH 59 will not be re-open on Monday 12 September. There is more work to be undertaken. Waka Kotahi has provided the below up-date
Crews are working 24 hours daily to get State Highway 59 between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki reopened next week.
As of this morning, Friday, 9 September, 19,000 cubic metres, approximately 2500 truckloads of earth has been removed from the site as part of slip remediation, and slope benching works. Another 6,000 cubic metres, almost 800 truckloads, is to be removed this weekend.
Weather permitting, earthworks will be completed early next week.
The final part of the operation will be clearing the work site, installing edge barriers and reinstating the road before reopening safely to the public, which will take an additional 2-3 days.
On Monday, 12 September Waka Kotahi will provide an update on the expected timeframe for reopening the road.
Here are the FACEBOOK and TWITTER links for sharing.
We thank you for your patience and understanding.
Ngā mihi, Anita De Klerk (she/her)/ Customer Communications and Engagement Advisor
SH 59 Re-opening update Read More »
You should have received the September 2022 edition of the Kōrero community newsletter in your mailbox by now. It is also available as a PDF download on our Kōrero page.
September edition of Kōrero out now Read More »
A community-led initiative to make Pukerua Bay pest-free, of mustelids and rats.
Rat traps and tunnels courtesy of Department of Conservation, to keen Pukerua Bay trappers for a $20 donation, which will help buy more traps.
Kelvin Hastie will be there to share his experiences making Crofton Downs Wellington’s first pest-free suburb and we will demonstrate how to use your trap and get you started. We will also have a speaker from the Kapiti Biodiversity Project.
Pest-free Pukerua Bay meeting Read More »
This post is published on behalf of the Predator Free Pukerua Bay project. If you are interested in participating, email predatorfreepkb@gmail.com for more information.
Autumn is definitely with us now – longer, cooler nights means that rats and mice are looking for warmer lodgings. It’s a great time to check your roof cavities and out-buildings for signs of rats and mice and place traps accordingly. We had great success at our house just by moving our trap into the garden shed (previously, it was just outside by the shed door): we caught a mouse and a rat that very night! We have also heard of others putting a little bit of bait at the tunnel entrance as a lure, which has been successful.
March and April’s catch numbers continue to increase.
Total reported catches since 12 November 2016: 262 rats; 375 mice; 10 mustelids (all in the Scientific Reserve); and 32 hedgehogs.
Welcome on board to our newest trappers! At the end of April, we have 102 properties involved in Predator-free Pukerua Bay (about 14 percent of all Pukerua Bay properties). All of the original 90 traps/tunnels provided by the Department of Conservation have now been sponsored – what a great effort from the community!
Congratulations!
April’s Top Ratter is Matt Wilson (9 rats). Honourable mentions to Jane Abdee and Nikky & Chris Winchester. Our top ratter for March was Julie Kilpatrick (26 rats).
Lots of mousing over the last two months: April’s Top Mouser is Matt Wilson. March’s champion mouser was Peter Roach.
Keep up the great work everyone! Hopefully, you and your neighbours are noticing more bird and wildlife in your areas!
Your baited, set trap is an important strategic part of our community network whether or not you catch anything. Good trap coverage ensures that we catch what is around and provides some insurance against re-invasion. If you have not yet caught anything, don’t worry or feel like you are not making a difference: just keep the bait fresh, check the trap regularly, and report any catches.
We made an application for funding support to Porirua City Council. It has very generously agreed to fund a further 75 rat traps and tunnels for sponsorship in and around the village. Thank you very much Porirua City Council! These extra traps/tunnels mean that we can continue our efforts to get sufficient coverage for effective predator control. These traps and tunnels are available for sponsorship NOW and we are keen to get these out ASAP. Get your friends and neighbours to contact us on predatorfreepkb@gmail.com if they are interested.
We are also very lucky to have a talented builder of tunnels on the team. Kerry’s work is well supported by his employer, Placemakers Paraparaumu. So a big shout out to both for their effort and support of our community trapping initiative!
Finally, thanks to all of you who stopped by at the school gala – it was great to catch up!
Volunteers monitored lizards in the Pukerua Bay Scientific Reserve for 51 days during summer, led by herpetologist Don Newman. No Whitaker’s skinks were found. About a quarter of the lizards found were raukawa geckos (also known as common geckos), three quarters were skinks. Most of the skinks found were identified as northern grass skinks (also known as common skinks). The two other skink species found were glossy brown skinks and copper skinks. Generally fewer lizards were found this summer than last, however that is probably due to the cooler, wetter summer that we have experienced. But we are concerned that the number of glossy brown skinks appears to be declining over time. Despite this concern, the number of lizards found here was good enough for DOC to also use the site for training volunteers in lizard handling and identification. Lizard monitoring has now finished for the year. Predator trapping (a DOC/Friends of Mana Island volunteer project) will continue all year around the reserve, along with the Regional Council doing some weed control. Thanks to Gillian for this update!
All of our trapping activity is designed to support safer backyard habitats. Understanding our success is about knowing our bird and wildlife. We have a few people in Pukerua Bay who are trained in doing five minute bird counts. We will doing these in a few locations throughout the Bay and can use this data to monitor impact.
LandCare New Zealand also do the NZ Garden Bird Survey in late June/early July. This is a great opportunity for all of us to spend some time with a cup of tea watching the birds in the garden. No training is necessary! We will post a reminder and link closer to the date.
Pukerua Bay is surrounded by farmland, including a pine block. We have decided to use some of the funds raised through community sponsorship to support expansion of a trapping programme into these areas. We are looking to install DOC 200 traps, which are effective for rats and mustelids. We are currently talking to land-owners to get this underway!
Predator Free Pukerua Bay trap coverage as of 1 April 2017.
Helli has been busy developing maps of predator control activities in Pukerua Bay. These maps will help us decide what activities to prioritise and where (including the village perimeter and the Scientific Reserve). We expect to keep developing our map. At the moment, it only shows what we know. Let us know if there is activity you know about that we can add!
To protect your privacy, we have placed a trap location marker near participating properties rather than exactly on it. Check out what’s going on near you.
For our newest trappers: please do report your catches. This helps us to monitor our overall success in catching predators. When you catch something, please tell us by:
Emailing this address (predatorfreepkb@gmail.com), or
Posting to the Predator-free Pukerua Bay Facebook page.
Finally, and as always, a big thank you to you all for being a part of Predator-free Pukerua Bay. It is awesome to have great community support and involvement for this initiative: we couldn’t do it without you!
The Predator-free PKB Team
Predator Free Pukerua Bay March and April update Read More »
Draft July minutes and agenda TBC (usually a week beforehand). Check back soon!
August 2018 Residents’ Association meeting Read More »
After the success of this event at the last Local Body Elections we are doing it again. Candidates for PCC Mayor, Parirua Maori Ward, Pauatahanui General Ward and GWRC Porirua-Tawa Ward have been invited to introduce themselves to the community then face up to questions (feel free to send a question to secretary@pukeruabay.org.nz but do indicate if it’s aimed at Mayoral, Regional or PCC candidates).
The meeting will be in the School and Community Hall starting at 7 pm and finishing at 9 pm with the opportunity to mingle and talk more to the candidates after the Q & A session.
If you’re inclined bring a plate.
Meet the Candidates Wednesday 14 September Read More »
Waka Kotahi has provided a further update. It is anticipated State Highway 59 will re-open Monday 12 September if work goes smoothly.
SLIP CONTROL, PUKERUA BAY HILLSIDE SAFETY PROJECT: UPDATE 2 September 2022
Since Friday 26 August,excavators have cleared the unstable overhang above the slip face and relocated the spoil using multiple trucks. Excavators are working at the top and bottom of the hillside to remove vegetation and soil to create a slope that will be stable long-term, rather than do a quick temporary clean-up. Benches (steps) are being formed along the hill to capture debris, like the benches seen on the Ngauranga Gorge hillside. Approximately 15,000 cubic metres will need be removed – that’s over 2300 truckloads of earth – with 7000 cubic metres already having been removed as at Thursday afternoon 1st September.
Multiple crews are working 10 hours a day, seven days a week to complete the safety project in as short a time as possible to minimise the impact on people’s journeys. To minimise customer impact from our maintenance activity for the next year, the closure between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki has been used by many crews to undertake scheduled maintenance work, such as road and barrier repairs, high risk tree removal and pruning along with drain clearing.
Work has also started on making the Pukerua Bay lookout at the top of the hill safe, where two slips have undermined footpaths.
When can the road reopen to the public?
It is hoped that the road could reopen on Monday 12 September 2022, if all goes smoothly. The safety project team continue to assess the site daily to seek potential opportunities to allow limited public access past the site. Meanwhile the road remains closed to all users.
Occasional planned and carefully coordinated escorts for any train replacement buses is occurring when needed, to maintain this vital link for people. Limited access has also been maintained between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki for cyclists and pedestrians who are able to use Pukerua Beach to access the path at the bottom of the hill. However, they need to exercise caution for the uneven surface and high tides.
Thanks for your patience and understanding while this essential work is carried out.
Please contact: customer@wta.nzta.govt.nz with your queries.
SH59 Update 3 September Read More »
