Mosquito Point spruce up complete

Mosquito Point has received a ‘spruce up’ courtesy of Horizons Regional Council in time for what is set to be a great summer swimming season. 

Last summer Horizons ran a competition where the public were asked to vote for their favourite location from a selection of 12. The most popular site was to win a ‘spruce up’ in the coming year.
 
Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon says Mosquito Point came out on top with 31 per cent of the 450 votes.
 
“This is a clearly a popular spot and we’re really pleased to have been able to give the site some extra amenities,” he says.
 
“This includes improved access to the Whanganui River via new steps, clearing of willows and vegetation, a new changing room structure, new seating, and next year we will undertake some planting too. We’ve already had some great feedback from locals who use the area, including one family whose disabled son can now get in the water thanks to the new steps.
 
“Whanganui District Council have also provided new picnic tables and are upgrading the road which leads to the site. This will make the site even more pleasant as road noise will lessen due to it being further away.”
 
Whanganui District Council team leader parks, Wendy Bainbridge, says with the warm weather conditions in Whanganui at present she thinks Mosquito Point will be very popular for swimming and picnicking.
 
“It’s fantastic Mosquito Point has received the spruce up – it obviously sends the message that it is one of our Region’s most popular spots and it should be even better this season.”
 
Mr Gordon says one aspect Horizons didn’t include in the spruce up was the reinstatement of a popular rope swing.
 
“We understand this may be a bit disappointing, however, water safety is extremely important to us and unfortunately the swing has been deemed a hazard. This extends to reminding swimmers that that stretch of the river is used by motorboats and jetskis and that children should always be supervised.
 
“At all our swim spots we also ask swimmers to check the monitoring results on our website before heading out, look for toxic algae, watch for hazards such as sunken logs, rips at beaches or unstable cliffs, and to not swim until three days after it’s rained. We want everyone to have the best possible experience when swimming in our Region and stay safe.”
 
Mr Gordon says the changing room structure that is new to the site will have reminders of these safety messages on it.
 
“The other side of this structure is currently bare and we’d like to invite the community to submit design ideas for this space. We’re keen to see a design that reflects what the river means to the community, especially considering the recent groundbreaking Whanganui River settlement, Te Awa Tupua.
 
"The competition is open until the end of February and we’ll choose one of these designs to be put up at the site.”
 
Mr Gordon says Horizons is also running a ‘Swim, Splash and Share Your Region' photo competition over summer.
 
“This competition encourages the public to post a photo of their favourite swim spot along with the hashtag #swiminourregion and the site's location tagged to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Entries are automatically in the draw to win a $1,500 adventure package.”
 
Mosquito Point is one of 80 sites Horizons monitors for water health from November to the end of April. The results from this monitoring can be viewed via an interactive map on the LAWA website.