Tuesday, 22 October 2019 14:55

Nothing wrong with this water!

Written by  Staff Reporters
Geoff and Rochelle Spark with irrigation lake in background. Geoff and Rochelle Spark with irrigation lake in background.

A new endurance event is starting in Canterbury courtesy of a dairy farmer’s irrigation lake.

The OxMan will include a variety of events based from the Spark family farm near Oxford.

Farm owners Geoff and Rochelle Spark, at Eyrewell, started building an irrigation lake on their Poyntz Rd property in 2010.

Geoff, a keen triathlete, says they always wanted the lake to double as a recreational area for their family and community.

The lake was also designed to tick environmental boxes: it’s surrounded by riparian planting, increasing biodiversity and habitat for native birds.

At 500m long and 120m wide it is ample for kayaking, water-skiing and swimming.

Oxman event director John Newsom says Canterbury lacks suitable swimming venues but the irrigation lake in North Canterbury is near perfect. It allows for a safe, smooth two lap swim in freshwater direct from the nearby Waimakarari River. 

 “We have issues finding clean, open-water swim venues in Canterbury and equally roads that are quiet enough directly next to these water spaces,” he told Rural News. “This lake and race site tick both these boxes. The triathlon community is excited about this new venue and event.”

The bike course will head towards Oxford, with the long-distance event carrying on completing three loops around Coopers Creek and View Hill before returning to Eyrewell for the final leg. 

“The bike course offers a nice challenge with a gentle grind up to Oxford, a few small bumps around Coopers Creek then a downhill finish. Most importantly the roads are not too busy with traffic,” Newsom said.

The final run leg would be a mix of shingle tracks and sealed roads in and around the race site. 

More like this

Point of View: Vineyard irrigation scheduling

Most vineyards require irrigation at some point. Deciding when and how much is required is a powerful management tool that directly affects fruit production, disease pressure, and even operational passes.

Lifting irrigation prowess on farm

The ability to manage an irrigation system depends on the percentage of water pumped that becomes available for plants to use, according to Watermetrics.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

AGTEK and ARGO part ways

After 12 years of representing the Landini and McCormick brands in New Zealand, Bay of Plenty-based AGTEK and the brands’…

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Why?

OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…

Fat to cut

OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter