Trip Reports
Herbert Forest Botanical Walk
Tuesday, November 15th, 2016
Sunday 9th October 2016
Seven of us left the car park and we picked up 3 more at Robbie’s. This was a botanical ramble with 2 very knowledge botanists, Zuni Steer and Hugh Wood. The object of the day was to try and educate us in identifying our native flora and then to remember their names! Quite a challenge for some .
We started at the bottom of the Podocarp Track and meandered our way to the big trees, then took the Glenbournie Loop back. On the way back we were often tested to see if we had retained our newly found knowledge!!
A very big thanks to Zuni and Hugh for coming out and helping us and being so patient.
On the way home we dropped the key off and Robbie gave us an open air didgeridoo concert overlooking the Waianakarua River. What a great way to finish the day.
Thank you to every one for a very entertaining day.
Herbert Forest Trap Setting Day
Sunday, November 13th, 2016
Sunday the 13th November 2016
Twelve Club members and a Venture Scout gathered at 8.30am with Khan Adam and three colleagues from High Country Contracting at the Swallows Carpark for a briefing before picking up the traps and setting out to place them. The plan was to place traps at 100 metre intervals along the Swallows, Podocarp and Hoods Creek tracks, alternating Doc 20 traps (in boxes, to catch stoats, rats and hedgehogs) with Sentinel possum traps (attached to trees).
One team of seven trampers set off with Khan and one colleague for the Podocarp Track. The remaining six trampers and two professionals headed up the Swallows Track, each team carrying sufficient traps for their route. The traps were placed a few metres off the track with their positions marked by ribbons.
The second team, having completed Swallows, took the first team’s vehicles up to the top of the Podocarp Track, restocked with traps, and headed down Hoods Creek. About two-thirds of the way down, they met the first group, who had worked their way up having completed the Podocarp Track. Both groups walked back to the road to collect vehicles and head home by around 2.30pm, having placed some 64 traps. It remains to place traps on the loop tracks, tag them all and start regular checking and resetting, tasks which we hope will control predators and help ensure that the Herbert Forest is noted for its thriving bird life as well as its magnificent trees.
Thanks to Khan and his colleagues, and to Jane, Graham, Neville, Sebastian, Roz, Maurice, Phyllis, Noel, Bron, Bill, Ross and Bess.
John.
Edwards to Hawdon Valleys via Tarn Col
Tuesday, October 25th, 2016
Labour Weekend 2016
A long weekend with fine weather forecast proved to be a good incentive to head over to Arthurs Pass for some tramping.
Friday night was spent at Porters Heights skifield accommodation where Tim’s daughter, Clare lives and works.
We woke to a -3degree frost on Saturday morning with fog blanketing the lower reaches on the way to Arthurs Pass. As Tim had already had a car at Porter Heights we were able to drive and leave it at the Hawdon carpark to await our return on Monday.The four of us then drove around to Greyneys where we parked the second car near the Bealey River.The fog had lifted and the sun shone as we made our way across the railway bridge and up the Edwards River Valley only to get wet feet soon after immersing in the Minga and various other streams.
After a pleasant walk on the riverbed and in bush, mainly uphill, we stopped for an early lunch at a viewpoint where we could see a spectacular waterfall on the Edwards River. A wire chain to assist passage over a rocky bluff had been replaced by re-routing the track down a steep gravel zig-zag.
We arrived at the Edwards hut just before 2pm to find we were the only ones there. That soon changed as more people arrived at various stages during the afternoon including a group of five from the South Canterbury Tramping Club, swelling the numbers to over twenty, with some sleeping on the kitchen floor and outside. A few of the SC TC members were known to us so we had an enjoyable evening reminiscing with them .
Another frost, but fine day saw us leaving the hut at 7.30am to make our way up the head of the Edwards Valley to the Taruahuna Pass and across an enormous pile of rocks of all sizes, the result of landslides from Falling Mountain triggered by a large earthquake in 1929. A climb up a gut led us to a steep face about three quarters of the way up to Tarn Col. Concentration levels were high as we hauled ourselves up clinging to the snowgrass to reach the top. One slip here would not be pretty.
A lunch break was taken sitting beside the tarn on the Col and then it was over the edge and down the narrow gut on the other side towards the East branch of the Otehake River, where we had another rest and snack before heading upstream criss-crossing to reach the turn-off to Walker Pass.
A short climb through scrub led us over the top passing a picturesque tarn on the way. Many crossings of the tarn outlet followed until a steep, sometimes rocky track took us down passing Twin Falls ( Two waterfalls) and then onto an easy going track in the bush to the Hawdon Hut, arriving at 3.15pm. Once again the comfortable hut, built in 2007 was at full capacity sleeping twenty people for the night.
A 7.30pm start once again on Monday morning enabled us to walk down the Hawdon River Valley and out to Tim’s car by 10.15am. This involved some easy walking in the bush but with quite a few river crossings, the last being well up our thighs (Not Tim’s though). Russell from SC TC hitched a ride with us back to Greyneys and we all left from there to head home.
Thanks to Clare, Tim, Maurice and also the SCTC Members, Dorothy, Kathryn, Russell, Martin, and Robert for their company in making an enjoyable weekend.
Phyllis
Cromwell Explore
Sunday, October 16th, 2016
1st-2nd October 2016
Saturday started with fog over Lake Dunstan but soon a bright clear Central sky came through for the day. Jac and Karyl walked the Cromwell – Bannockburn Lakeside Walk starting from Old Cromwell. Bev, Dave, Bill and I did the Cairnmuir Track starting on Pigeon Rock Rd on Cornish Point. The DOC track follows several ridgelines up the Cairnmuir Range. When the ground is barren – the smallest flora and fauna become larger in perspective. Thyme, Bidibid, California Poppy, Kowhai and Hebe were all in flower. Dave spotted a Yellowhammer sitting on a rock. Over 3-4 metres, Bev saw a lot of black fluffy caterpillars which possibly were the caterpillars of the Magpie Moth, which we had seen earlier in the day. Bill sniffed out an old water race enroute – a short cut to the hut. It took 3 hours to reach the large Cairnmuir Musterer’s Hut, it contained a table and no bunks. The hut is still in good condition. We got back to the vehicles by 4pm and after dropping off Bill, we went back to camp to catch up on Jac and Karyl. On Sunday, we went for a short walk out to the Bannockburn sluicings on Felton Rd. Here we were humbled by the sheer hard labour that went into gold exploration.
Many Thanks for your company Karyl, Jac, Bev, Bill, and Dave.
Bess
Shag Point and Pukehiwitehi
Wednesday, September 28th, 2016
18 September 2016
It’s good to have a local ‘ easy flat walk’ on the programme, so Shag Point with an option of a climb up Puketapo seemed a good plan. The walk out to the boat harbour along the rock shelf must be North Otago’s best kept secret. The walk did live up to seeing the amazing geological formations, but it was slippery, and took more effort than maybe expected to clamber over the rocks etc. The seal colony was much depleted in comparison to other times I have been there. We explored for signs of the coal mining as we went up a hill to view the Shag River mouth. Attempts to find a short-cut back to the cars through the forest failed, but what with the differing cribs and sussing out where the rail track may have gone, the road walk passed without too much boredom.
All were keen to climb Pukehiwitehi as Puketapu was closed for lambing. So following Jane M instructions we headed over the maim road. We did not actually find the driveway but we got over the railway line plus fence to scramble over cleared forestry rubble until hitting a forestry road, and eventually onto a road that leads to the top. There were excellent views Northwards until close to the top. Here we found the remnants of the majestic monument to McKenzie until it fell over and was replaced at Puketapo. Jane had given us the co-ordinates of the ‘tumbled down hill bits’ but after a short hunt, decided that it was too steep, slippery and the GPS’s were not happy with all the trees overhead. On our return journey we endeavoured to find the correct entrance, but again were unsuccessful. Thanks to Rodney for these web sites:
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW19021112.2.97.1
http://hockensnapshop.ac.nz/nodes/view/35392
It was an interesting more casual day, and it’s always fun to go somewhere new and conquer another peak even at if only at 227m. Thanks for the company of Helen, Rodney, Bill, Maurice Phyllis and Sharon.
Jane
