Lake Ferry erosion fears

People living in the tiny township of Lake Ferry fear their little slice of coastal paradise is slipping away from them, literally.
Whole chunks of shoreline are crumbling away as a bulging Lake Onoke relentlessly eats away the edge of the lake, having completely destroyed a car park and threatening to sever the only road link to the sea.
The erosion is at its worst when the mouth is closed and lake water is driven ashore by heavy north- westerly winds.
Families got together at the Lake Ferry Hotel yesterday to discuss the deepening crisis and to try to find a way of convincing authorities of the urgent need to protect the shoreline.
Mary Tipoki said the erosion of the shoreline has been getting worse year by year, and is accelerating.
"We need some great big boulders right now to protect the shoreline and someone has to take responsibility for the management of the lake."
She said it seems it is taking longer and longer to reopen the mouth and because of this river water swells the lake leading to erosion disaster from wind-driven waves.
Lake Ferry people believe Greater Wellington Regional Council, South Wairarapa District Council and the Department of Conservation are all guilty of passing the buck when it comes to solving the township's dilemma.
Bruce Murray said erosion has completely obliterated a beach car park used by fishermen and day visitors for years, and the road that hugs the sheet rocks leading to the sea is being battered with each passing week.
Mr Murray said residents had asked for work to be done to reinstate the car-parking area but the request had fallen on deaf ears.
"We were told there are no funds available."
He said it grated Lake Ferry people to have to sit by and see erosion ruining the lakefront and road to the sea, especially when South Wairarapa District Council's draft community plan allowed for thousands to be spent on Cape Palliser Road.
"They plan to spend more than $196,000 controlling erosion on that road this financial year, rising to $212,000 the next year, then $219,000 and to $1.6 million for the years 2012 to 2019."
Should the single access road disappear it would spell doom for Lake Ferry.
Keen fisherman John Taber said the road was not only needed for locals but allowed visitors to get to the sea. If it were lost then Lake Ferry would lose its primary attraction for tourists.
"When I go fishing you can just about guarantee up to a dozen visitors will walk along the seashore within a two-hour stretch."
The road is also essential when search and rescues are under way as Lake Ferry has featured in many sea dramas over many decades.
Erosion of the lake edge persists from the mouth to what is known as Bastion Point at the approach to Lake Ferry from the northern end of the settlement beyond the entrance to the motor camp.
There, the roots of huge mature pine trees have been left completely exposed as lake water continuously washes away subsoil.
Management of Lake Onoke has come under heavy scrutiny in the past year.
Apart from the concerns of Lake Ferry people other warnings have been sounded over the state of the lake that some believe is being heavily polluted with farm run-off and other sediment, leading to a proliferation of weed and the silting-up of the lake floor.