Trip Reports
Mt St Cuthbert
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025
Mt St Cuthbert, St Cuthbert Range, Omarama. October 19th 2025
Here, three members of NOTMC met up with Rodney and Dave Woods from Dunedin, starting the climb at 9.50 am. It was great to have these guys lead us, as they had hiked to the summit and back the same way two months earlier. Beware of the DOC sign suggesting it takes 2 hours to the Summit – it took us 3.5 hours.
After walking through a lucerne track between two fences, we started the steep climb. Rather than staying close to the fence line where the DOC markers are placed, it was easier to follow sheep tracks up the ridgeline. After forty minutes of climbing, the views were impressive: the braided Ahuriri flowing down to lake Benmore, The Buscot and Benmore Peak to the north. Gliders were floating below us, competing with kahu soaring on the nor’west wind. And beyond them, we could see Lake Ohau, The Ben Ohau Range, and Lake Pukaki. Aoraki/Mt Cook was lightly masked by the incoming cloud.
I hour and 40 minutes after setting out we reached the fence line junction with the 4WD track from Omarama station. We followed this track, with the nor’west wind pounding us, until we found some shelter behind tussocks for a 25 minute lunch stop. Adding extra layers of fleece and jackets, and exchanging sunhats for woolly hats, we battled our way into the ferocious wind to eventually reach the summit of Mt St Cuthbert (1558m) 3 hours and 35 minutes after setting out. The pole marking the trig point was covered in ice, and we clung on to it to keep steady in the gusting nor’westerly.
Rather than returning by the same route down the slippery gravel of the steep ridgeline, Rodney suggested we duck out of the wind and follow a south east ridge down to the headwaters of Glen Creek and the 4WD track leading out to the Otamatakou Easement. We needed to cut through a paddock to join up with the easement from the 4WD track. It was a long walk out to the Benmore Holiday Park on State Highway 83, and from there it was another 5.2 km walk (I hour) along the A2O Cycle Trail to the parked cars. We returned at 7:15 pm, having completed a round trip of 9 hours and 25 minutes, covering a distance of 26.5 km.
The official DOC descent route down to the Otamatakou starts at another summit rock outcrop, east of the actual summit and follows a boundary fence with a DOC marker. This fence joins on to the 4WD track we followed. We will try that route next time! On that next trip, when coming out at Benmore Holiday Park, we could have a bike or car waiting for us to save that trek along the A20.
Thanks to Rodney, Dave, Lorenna and Colin for their ever cheerful company.
Jenny Kitchin, Rodney Meiklejohn
Little Domett and Little Domett Lower Saddle – 28 September 2025
Saturday, October 11th, 2025
This trip was done in two groups, with one group seeing the opportunity of climbing Little Domett 1860m from a different area which gave them an easier direct route to the top. The other group did the Domett Lower Saddle, getting to a high point of 1158m.
The 1st group left town at 6.30am, an early start considering daylight saving had just started and one member leaving Dunedin at 5am. They met another member at the end of Domett Rd and 4WD into a hut called Lone Creek Lodge by Lone Creek. They then headed off up a 4WD track to the lower saddle and then cross-country and up a direct ridge to the top of Little Domett, making good time (despite the strong winds), reaching the top about 11.15am.
The other group left town at a more respectable time of 8am and drove to the end of Domett Rd, where they started their hike. Group two headed off up a 4WD track to a small saddle and then down into Lone Creek and up to the hut where the others had parked their vehicles. After a bit of a look around the hut it was then off up a track behind the hut and into a basin below Little Domett, which we climbed out of and sided around the lower ridge of Little Domett to a lower saddle, getting there about 11.30am. Group two was in radio contact with group one on Little Domett, and they had thought of hiking another hour over to big Domett at 1942m—but there were wind warnings for the day and it was starting to pick up, so they decided to stay put and have an early lunch and take in the views. Group two found a place out of the wind on the lower saddle, taking in the views of the mountains around us and down into the Waitaki Valley.
Group two took a leisurely lunch and got the call on the radio that the other group were on their way down, so we stayed put for a while and watched the other group come into view. Group two then when down a zig-zag track into a broad valley leading back to Lone Creek where we climbed back up to the small saddle and back to the cars, getting there about 10mins before the other group arrived in the 4WDs. It was then a quick catch up of everyone’s day before heading home.
Thanks to the farmer for giving us access to this area and the members that came along to enjoy it.
Rodney, David, Neil, Jonathan, Julian, Lynette, Jenny and Mike.
–Neville
Otago Harbour Bike Ride
Sunday, July 20th, 2025
12 cyclists went on the on a cycle around Otago Harbour, stopping at the tooth fairy park (Harbour Mouth Molars), and then finishing at the Portobello Hotel & Bistro before catching the ferry back to Port Chalmers.
— Mary and Geoff
Otekaieke Hill – 15 June 2025
Sunday, July 6th, 2025
Seven of us left town, picking one more up on the way, making a party of eight for the day.
After all the crap weather we had had during the week we were all hoping for a nice winter’s day, which the weather gods gave us. We headed up the Waitaki Valley, turning off into Special School Rd past the old Campbell Park School and up into Kenmore Station, to park up by some yards up a farm track.
The plan for the day was going to be to climb Otekaieke Hill, then drop off the south side into Jackson Creek and come back along the Bridle Track. But once we looked at all the water from the rain earlier in the week coming down the Otekaieke River, we knew the Bridle Track would be out. So it was decided to go up Otekaieke Hill and return the same way.
We started off along the Bridle Track until we crossed over Bushy Creek, and then found the 4WD track heading up. The 4WD track was a good track and not too bad an elevation. After about an hour, we found a nice rocky point to have a break and take in some views.
From here it was all up for another 1½ hours until we reached point 1010m, and where we started to get the big views of the snowy peaks of the St Marys Range. At this point, one of our party members who was carrying a bit of an injury stopped there for lunch before heading back down, while the rest of us carried on for another 2km along the main ridge line to be all on Otekaieke Hill by 12.30pm.
We sat there having lunch with grand views of Mt David 1412m, Cone Peak 1563m, Grayson Peak 1660m, Mt Domett 1942m, Little Domett 1860m, and in the distance Kohurau 2009m, and also Dansey Pass Rd, Hakataramea Valley and right down to the coast.
It was such a nice day up there with no wind – it was hard to get going again and come back down. Three members decided to take a different way down, which came back onto the main track further down. The rest of us went back down the same way we came up, hoping to meet up with our member who we left behind.
After about an hour, we met back up with our three members that took a different way down from the top, but we still hadn’t met back up with our other member. We all had radios, so after calling him up we found he had taken a different track down. As we got down a wee bit, we could see the farmer bring the stock off the hill and our other member had caught up with him – so he became a shepherd bringing the sheep down.
Not far from the bottom, we all met up together before coming back down onto the Bridle Track and heading back to the cars.
All up we had hiked about 17km and a 900m climb over 6½ hours, so if we had done the original plan it would have been a bit longer – we might keep that for a summer trip when the days are longer.
Thanks to: Julian, Lynette, David, Lorena, Heather, Geoff and Mary for their company for the day – none of them had ever been up there before.
Thanks also to Kenmore Station for letting us on to their farm.
Neville