Club night November 2016

Tuesday, November 15th, 2016

The Tramping Club’s main trip in the last month was to the Edwards and Hawdon Valleys in the Arthurs Pass area.

In ideal weather 4 members arranged a car at each end and then walked up the Edwards Valley to the Edwards hut. The next day was over Tarn Col to Hawdon Hut, with a short walk down Hawdon Valley to the car on the final day.

Herbert Forest now has stoat and possum traps spaced out along its 3 tracks with a few more to be placed on the 2 loop tracks. The Club will check the traps regularly. We look forward to more bird life in the future in this podocarp remnant forest.

The Wednesday Walkers had 2 day trips on the A2O bike trail because of wet weather making access to other areas difficult. They also walked the Andersons Lagoon to Shag River Mouth, Kurinui Creek Circuit and Domett Loop below Little Domett.

Coming Tramping Club Trips are an A2O return bike ride from Duntroon to Kurow on November 20.

Contact Phyllis by Friday if you want to come. Thousand Acre Plateau trip is planned for 2-6 December. The Christmas Party is on the 12 December. See the NOTMC website for details of these events.

There will be a Mt. Potts trip in late January.

The night’s speaker was our own adventure traveller Bronwyn McCone, who recently spent a month on the Spirt of Enderby cruising to Antarctic via the sub Antarctic Islands with 50 other passengers.

There was never a dull moment with bird watching, whale watching and guest passenger lectures while at sea, walks or coastal zodiac boating around the Sub Antarctic Islands, and a historical visit to the Ross Sea coastline.

Highlights were visits to Shackleton’s and Scott’s huts with all the stores and furnishings still there, McMurdo and Scott Bases with a population of up to 2000 in the summer and cruising the Ross Ice Shelf with spectacular photos of ice walls and caves, Adelie and Emperor penguins, seals and sea lions and distant views of smoking volcano Mt. Erebus.

A never to be forgotten trip.

Club Night October 2016

Wednesday, October 26th, 2016

Monday, 10^th October

With the weather warming up, going for a tramp appealed to many over the last month. Trips included Maerewhenua area, Spring Creek and Mt Victoria/Raki’s Table for the Wednesday Walkers.  Many also helped with the DOC inspired tree planting at Gards Road. This was a successful day by planting native trees to enhance an area where existing species were unique. Tramping Club trips included Shag Point and Pukehiwitahi, Cromwell day trips, and Herbert Forest Botanical Walk with Zuni Steer and Hugh Wood from Waitaki Forest and Bird.  Our Guest Speaker for the evening was Lindsay Kyles, a paramedic  from St John who has been involved with them for 30 years.  He is also on the South Island Health and Safety Committee for St John.  He has seen many life threatening situations but thankfully, he enjoys his job. Lindsay gave a talk on First Aid in the outdoors, where an ambulance may not have access to.  Again, raising the importance of carrying a PLB when going tramping. Visit our website for information www.notmc.org.nz

Club Night July 2016

Tuesday, July 12th, 2016

There were two safety notices.

Blakely Pacific are Harvesting trees in the Herbert Forest. While not directly near walking tracks care still needs to be taken on their roads.

DOC are undertaking possum control in the Lake Ohau area.

Trip reports:

Wednesday Walkers had four walks over the last month. A circuit to Douglas Rock on Dome Hills Station, the Black Cap – Scout Hill circuit, the Weston escarpment circuit, and a farm walk near Baghdad Rd.

The tramping Club had no trips that actually went so we heard about a members walk on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Planned Club trips are to Mts. McKenzie & Trotter, a bike ride in the Kakanui area, and an overnight trip to Mt. Summers. More details are on the NOTMC website.

Our guest speaker was local botanist Hugh Wood who gave a talk and showed slides about the flora and fauna from the Southern Ocean to the Mountain tops of the Mount Cook National Park.

He started off at the Auckland Islands where the Hooker sea lions are affected by canine distemper with only 25% of 1994 numbers left. We also saw yellow eyed penguins, gentians that are purple, and mega herbs whose leaves are designed to act like solar panels and collect mist droplets for their roots.

Then it was to the Chatham Islands featuring the Chatham Island Forget-me- not, to the Waipapa Point gentians, Curio Bay fossilised trees, and Trotters Gorge limestone formations, Celmisia Hookeri and sun orchids.

The Waitaki Valley featured Clematis  Afoliata near Georgetown, vegetable sheep on the Kirkliston Range, mountain dragon flies that used to be the size of seagulls in the Crustacean Period, buttercups on the Awakino Saddle, and native convolvulus on the Otematata Saddle.

The mistletoe at Lake Ohau is now growing on the matagouri thanks to DOCs possum control, but the bright pink flowers of the hebe, Swainsona novae-zelandiae on the Ben Ohau Range are being eaten by the hares.

Our most intelligent bird, the kea is declining in numbers, estimated to be between 1000 and 5000. It is hoped a more accurate count will be done soon.

Hugh’s slides showed the full colour of the native plants and mountain scenery and his wide ecological knowledge, memory of plant names and their distribution area here in our own back yard gave us a new  perspective into the places we tramp.

Club Night June 2016

Tuesday, June 14th, 2016

Walking clears the mind and is good exercise. When this is done away from the busy town life, you get to leave it all behind and enjoy the company of like minded people. The walks that we go on are not that strenuous and we have plenty of destinations to cater for all fitness levels. Recently the Wednesday Walkers walked along Moeraki beach, climbed Elephant Hill which incidentally, still looks like an elephant. Also Timaru Walkway, Kuriheka and Boundary Creek. The NOTMC tramped Kakanui Peak which featured relics from ski field days of the 1950’s. A few braved a cold Sunday to bike ride to Windsor. Queen’s Birthday was spent tramping the Hollyford Track in perfect weather conditions with birdlife, seals and a helicopter ride to Milford Sound for rewards. Our Guest Speaker for the evening was Ian Sutherland, who provided lively tales of cycling trails in NZ and overseas. He has biked extensively in the North Otago hill country, plus the Manapouri Pylon Road, Skippers, Heaphy and several North Island tracks have felt the tread of Ian’s bike too. Germany’s Moselle Valley allowed Ian and his friends to bike during the day while enjoying a Barge boat ride along the Rhine in the evening. He has biked in the Burgundy Valley, France and an Amsterdam Bike Tour. A week long bike ride near Lake Tahoe, California was a warm up for another ride in Colorado where ski runs were used as tracks, without the snow!

Club Night May 2016

Wednesday, May 25th, 2016

The AGM was held with President Jane Green being elected for another term. Over the last year, the Club has been busy with many walks and maintenance of the Herbert Forest. Wednesday Walkers have enjoyed walks in the Waitaki Valley. The Guest Speaker, Ian Davies, was the leader of saving indigenous trees in the Herbert Forest while he worked for the NZ Forest Service. From 1965, approximately 100 acres per year of gorse and native trees were burned to make way for Pinus radiata. The NZ Forest Service base was located in Dunedin and Ian asked them to consider a walking track which they agreed to, “for the loopies”. Ian then surveyed a track and when the weather was not suitable for forestry work, the employees worked on the track. This was the Podocarp Track established approximately 1968. School groups started to use the track and Ian became their Guide. In the early 1970’s, the Glenburnie and Hoods Creek Tracks were established by the Forestry. Thanks to Ian’s interest in indigenous trees and his initiative, many people have been enjoying these tracks for years and will continue to do so.