Cloud Hosting

Not long after Awaroa became New Zealand's beach, resident Geoff Philips found a woman camping on the sand.

"I said, 'what are you doing here?' She said, 'I paid money towards this'. I said, 'where did you go to the toilet?' 'Oh, I didn't go', she told me.

"I said, 'really? In 24 hours you didn't go to the toilet?'"

The furtive camper was one of many Kiwis who chipped in for the 2016 Givealittle campaignthat raised $2.8m to buy Awaroa Beach for New Zealand. The 2.8-hectare (6.9 acre) property, with its 800 metres of coastline, later became part of Abel Tasman National Park.

READ MORE:*Awaroa Beach officially becomes part of Abel Tasman National Park*A year on - visiting Awaroa Bay, the beach that Kiwis bought*Adam Gard'ner: Community spirit at heart of buy the beach campaign

For a while, interest in the beach was strong, Philips said. Tourists sprawledon the white stretch of sand and hikedalong the 2km-long inlet.Tour guides cashed in on the beach's fame.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

After the crowdfunding campaign, boat operators would point the beach out to visitors, said Geoff Philips. "All the boat operators made a meal of it, come down and see your beach."

"All the boat operators made a meal of it, 'come down and see your beach'."

Four years later, the dust has settled, Philips said. But as part of one of the country's most visited coastlines,Awaroa Beach has hitched its wagon tothe fortunes of the national park,home to golden beaches, turquoise waters and one of the country's favouritewalks.

Last year, about 300,000 people visited the park, a tenfold increase since Philips built his property on a bankoverlooking theestuary30 years ago.

For a long timethe home was a summer getaway, butthree years ago, after a couple of health scares, Philips packed in his Wellington job and moved to the beach. His wife, Elva, keeps a foot in each camp, dividing her time between the capital and Awaroa.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

The sands have always shifted on Awaroa Beach. In 2018, when Cyclone Fehi's storm surge coincided with a king tide, vegetation and sand was swept away.

Summers are busy for Philips, who works for tour company Wilsons. Heferriespeople to and from water taxis, and rescues stranded kayakersandlost hikers. During colder months, he has the beach to himself,an unofficial caretaker for the handful of baches that line the inlet.

Over the decades, Philips has watched thelandscape change.

Twenty-five years ago, the sea forged a new path into the inlet, taking out a house and a slice of land. And in 2018, the storm surge of ex-Tropical Cyclone Fehi coincided with a king tide, inundatingcampsites around the park. Awaroa Beach lost a large section of dunes, including habitat for nesting birds.

"When the spitwashere we had 300 ternsbut now there'snowhere for them to go," Elva said.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

Geoff and Elva Philips are the sole year-round residents of the Awaroa Bay community.

"The cyclone took a lot of sand. It's good that people boughtthe beach, but it's half what it was."

Last year, aDepartment of Conservation reportoutlined the expected impact of an expected 0.5 to 1msea level rise by 2100 on New Zealand's coastal areas.

Sixty-two Abel Tasman assets, including huts and campsites,and more than five per cent of the track are at risk, the report said.Higher tides are coming, and DOC plansto move some campsites to safer ground.

When Awaroa Beachbecame part of the national park in 2016, DOC said work would be done to restore the dune ecology.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

To get to Awaroa Beach, you'll need to take a water taxi, or park at the end of the long inlet.

Operations manager Dave Winterburn said the first priorities after the beach changed hands were fencing off nesting areas and arranging access for walkers and boat operators.

Over the coming year, DOC will "explore options for restoration", he said.

"While the cyclones did impact some private beachfront properties around theAwaroaestuary they weren't a determining factor for whether work was done or not done on the 'People'sBeach'.

"If anything they have prompted more discussion about restoration work."

With the sea nibbling away at their front garden, the Philips can't help think about Awaroa's future.

But for now, they do what they can to preserve the beach.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

Catherine Taylor was working in Doubtful Sound when she donated $20 to the crowdfunding campaign in 2016. Now, she's a chef at Meadowbank Lodge, on the beach she helped buy.

"It's our backyard," Elva said. "If there's rubbish on the ground we pick it up. We just think, we have to look after it."

Catherine Taylor works as a chef at Meadowbank Homestead, catering to package tours of hikers and kayakers making their way along the coastal track.

Four years ago, she was working on a cruise boat in Doubtful Sound,a job that ignited alove of wildand remote landscapes.

After work, Taylor and her colleagues would turn to the quiz in The Southland Times. Flipping through the pages one evening, the crew spotted a story about the crowdfunding campaign.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

Meadowbank Lodge chef Catherine Taylor caters for crowds of hungry kayakers and trampers passing through Awaroa Bay.

"It reminded us of where we were, andwhat if that was sold off overseas," Taylor said."I felt very strongly I wanted [Awaroa] to stay in New Zealand."

Taylor pledged $20 to the campaign, then forgot about the white-sand beach until acouple of years later, when she got a job on tour boats travelling along the Abel Tasman.

"One day, I was on the boat and they were like, this is your beach. It was a shock when I realised.

"I put towards it without knowing [where it was], and now I'm working here."

Visiting Awaroa Beach means a water taxi journey, or a 2kmhike along the inlet from the end of an unsealed road.

The remoteness preserves the beach's tranquility, Taylor said.

"Other parts of the park are very busy. To come to Awaroa and have the whole beach to yourself is amazing."

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

Kayak guide Rob Barth loves to show off the Abel Tasman's bird life, estuaries and beaches to visitors.

RobBarthhas spent two summers working as a kayak guide on the Abel Tasman.

It's easy to see why visitors love the park.

"The golden beaches, the clear waters, the estuaries,the bird life," Barth said.

Working on the water, Barth has a keen eye for the way the coastline has altered. AfterFehi, it was "exciting" to see how dramatic some of the changes were, he said.

But the effect on the bush and the birdlife was sobering, he said.

"The waves are changing and the sand is shifting,"Barthsaid."I think about it a lot."

There were few tourists on the beach when Stuff visited.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

German visitors Theresa Hasmann and Jens Haumann thought the beach would be packed. But they found it "lonely".

Theresa Hasmann and her partner, Jens Haumannwere on holiday from Germany. They stayed in Nelson the night before and visited Awaroa on a recommendation from their hostel. With limited time, they planned to view the rest of the park from the top deck of a water taxi.

"The landscape isreally pretty," Hasmannsaid. "I thought because it ishighseason there'sgoing to be a lot of people. But there'snot;it'slonely."

Irish couple Catriona and Eugene Scally were soaking up the sun ahead of a walk to Tonga Quarry to meet their water taxi.

"We couldn't be further away from Ireland," Eugene said.

He hadn't heard of the crowdfunding efforts, but wasn't surprised that Kiwis had thrown their weight behind the campaign.

"People have pride in where they live, I think that's absolutely fantastic.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF

"We couldn't be further away from Ireland." Irish couple Eugene and Catriona Scally enjoyed the solitude on Awaroa Beach.

"We heard [New Zealand] was beautiful but it's exceeded our expectations."

Christchurch manAdamGard'nerwas another visitorto Awaroathis summer.The beach has special significance forthe Christchurch man and his family:Gard'nerandhis brother-in-lawDuaneMajor were behindthe 2016Givealittlecampaign.

Hetriesto getback each year, butJanuary wasthe firsttime he'd visited with his children for sometime.

"We justlove it.The pristine beach,the beautiful green ofthe bush land, it's magical."

MARTIN DE RUYTER/STUFF

Adam Gard'ner and Duane Major dreamed up the crowd funding campaign to buy Awaroa Beach for New Zealanders.

The family walkedthroughthe bush, swam inthe sea, and chattedto other visitors.

"They mentioned how cool itwasthatit's partofthe park now and can be shared by everyone."

Gard'nerkeptsilentabouthis partinthe beach, butitwas a meaningful moment.

"Whenthe land can connectpeople,thatcan be really powerful."

See the original post here:
How the sands have shifted on Awaroa, 'New Zealand's beach' - Stuff.co.nz