The first step in protecting and appreciating the headwater springs is to know where they are by visiting one or more of them. Here is how to find the ones at Te Kuru wetlands (Halswell) and at Nga Puna Wai (Wigram) that form the majority of the initial base flow of the river. All it takes is a short stroll or perhaps combine the visit with a longer walk.
Visit a spring
Bunz Stream springs – Te Kuru wetlands
You can drive quite close to the series of springs in Te Kuru wetlands by navigating to Sutherlands Road, Halswall and turning into Bunz Road. Drive along Bunz Road until you are opposite Beamsgate Road. Park here. The stream that runs beside the road is Bunz Stream. You will see a plank across the stream. Use this to explore up and down the stream. Look carefully in the open areas of the stream for dancing sands indicating the uprising water of the spring,
If you explore upstream, you will come across a substantial spring coming out of the ground and flowing to the stream.
There are approximately ten different springs in this area of Te Kuru wetlands. They are all shown as blue triangles on the plan of the wetlands shown on this page. For a lovely walk, park your car or bike in the Te Kuru carpark on Cashmere Road and follow the paths to all the marked springs on the map. How many can you see?
Nga Puna Wai – Wigram
If you have ever visit the Nga Puna Wai Sports Hub, you have been very close to a significant series of springs that feed the headwaters of the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River. To see these springs, drive or ride to the Sports Hub at the end of Augustine Drive. Park as close as you can to the bridge that you cross as you enter the Sports Hub. That bridge spans the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River but often in the summer there is only a little, if any, water flowing under that bridge. If you follow the gravel track along beside the bush, you can take one of the many side tracks that lead down to the river. There you will find a track beside the river on the Sports Hub side.
As you walk along this track, the amount of water in the river quickly increases. If you stop and look carefully into the river, especially where it takes on the appearance of a pool, you will see dancing sands at the bottom indicating rising springs that give the river more than a third of its overall flow.
You can follow the track along until you reach a substantial wooden bridge that leads across the river. If you stand on the bridge and look into the river, you should see many tuna waiting for a feed. If you want to make a loop of your walk, continue across the bridge and up the walkway to Warren Crescent. Turn right on to Warren Crescent and you can loop back to where you parked.
