Aramoana

Sunday, August 3rd we drove to the end of the northern side of the harbor. There is a little town called Aramoana there, along with a breakwater and mudflats.

To the southwestern side of the township extend expansive salty mudflats. This area is now a protected wildlife sanctuary, which hosts a range of plant and animal life, both native and exotic. This is Shelly Beach; we walked along it trying to stay dry but the tide was coming in so we ended up pretty wet.

The main channel of the harbor is kept clear by the Aramoana mole, an artificial earthen breakwater which extends for 1200 meters from Aramoana. It is that breakwater extending behind Dan. The mole was originally intended to extend another 600 meters into the ocean, however due to tidal patterns and the instability of the construction, no attempt to extend beyond the current length was thought to be possible.

This is looking towards Big Beach. The names of beaches here aren't too original.

We walked out to the end of the mole. The Aramoana mole is important for alignment of the shipping channel at the mouth of Otago Harbor and improving tidal flow, which maintained channel depth. It was constructed in the 1880s, and materials keep being added to maintain it. Last century, derelict ships were scuttled alongside the sea wall to offer additional protection. Now, scuba divers like to go exploring these old ships.

From the mole you can look across and see the tip of the Peninsula with its lighthouse and albatross colony.