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Mt. Somers
Wednesday, August 24th, 2016
20th-21st August 2016
A weekend to Mt Somers/Pinnacles Hut in fine weather was a much more attractive option than the scheduled trip two weeks previously which was postponed
A party of nine with some new faces met at North Oamaru and set off at 8.15am heading for the Staveley entrance to the Mt Somers Track.
Many cars greeted us at the carpark and there was some doubt as to whether we would all get a bed at the Pinnacles Hut for the night.
With heavy packs loaded with great desserts for our pot-luck feast the party split into two groups, the main one taking the walkway valley track while Uwe, Jane M and Maurice ventured along the South Face and up to the Mt Somers summit
.For the main party a snack was taken on Duke Knob before descending to the Bowyers Stream where progress on the well used trail was much slower because of compacted snow which made conditions very slippery in places.
.Meanwhile, the summit party had donned crampons and reached the peak to take in the perfect views all around. Radio contact was made between each other to make sure all was well and after about 1km of plodding in deep soft snow the summit party located the cairn indicating the place to descend a steep face with bluffs and gullies to connect with the walking track on a saddle above the Pinnacles Hut.
The main party were now installed in the hut and had it to themselves.With some help from Robbie and Phyllis back up on a saddle some advice was offered via radio on the best route down for the summit party who eventually arrived at the hut ready for a hot brew. John and Neville had the fire going which made for a very comfortable time as we prepared dinner and produced the special pot-luck desserts.
A great variety was forthcoming with cheesecakes,marshmallows dipped in chocolate,custard sponges dried apricots, chocolate coated ginger,a mixture of cranberries,crushed meringues and cream,chocolate coated rum treats from Germany complete with candles, a bottle of port and last but not least John’s speciality, a can of cream which seemed to get sprayed on most things edible.
With much hilarity and bulging stomachs we bedded down for the night.
On Sunday, Uwe, Fiona and Maurice left to go back out to the Staveley carpark and drove around to the Woolshed Creek carpark to pick up the rest of the group which had walked through from the Pinnacles Hut via Woolshed Creek Hut and the Miners Track.
Snowy conditions both ways made for a cautious walk with a few slips and face-plants but all arriving safely.
With an ice-cream/coffee stop in Geraldine we arrived back in Oamaru mid afternoon after an enjoyable weekend in the company of John, Jane M, Jane G, Neville, Robbie, Fiona, Uwe, Phyllis and Maurice.
Mt Trotter and Mt McKenzie
Wednesday, July 27th, 2016
17th July 2016
After meeting the five Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club members plus Helen and Rodney at the turnoff south of Palmerston, we continued up Mt Trotter Rd, through the locked gate and parked at the Woolshed. Introductions were made between OTMC and NOTMC members and then off to a good start and up the east side of Mt Trotter. We grouped together at the top and at this stage, two of the OTMC members chose to return to Dunedin as they did not want to miss an astronomical talk. The remaining 22 went down the south side of Mt Trotter and then heading west along the fenceline to another fenceline which goes south east down the ridge. The party spread out and some were half way up Mt McKenzie before the others had arrived. Everyone reached the top of McKenzie by 12pm which is where we enjoyed lunch out of the cold south westerly. Brent told us the story of when he worked on the farm and on his motorbike he rode up Mt McKenzie – he came down too – not as intended. So after lunch, over the top and down the south side and around to the east where the columnar volcanic rock displays itself – it is quite unusual. At the bottom of McKenzie, we followed a 4WD track back to the pine trees and then on a lower terrace it continued back to the vehicles at the woolshed. We stopped at Hampden for an ice cream and a chance meeting with Bill and Pat, before heading home.
Many thanks to those who braved the cold wind and rain.
Peter, Leonie, Lucy, Nathan and Christine from OTMC; Helen and Rodney, Linda, Jac, Ros, Sylvia, Ewe, Els, Jane, John, Phyllis, Maurice, Robbie, Noel, Bronwyn, Brent, Maria, Dean and Bess
The Hollyford 2016
Thursday, June 16th, 2016
Arriving in Te Anau in anticipation of good weather and a good tramp, we descended on the Te Anau Club for takeaways. We stayed at the Lakeview Holiday Park and the accommodation was fantastic.
Day 1: We arrived at the Hollyford road end approximately 10am and before starting, we did a short walk to the Humbolt Falls. En route to Alabaster Hut, we met several parties coming out and we also took in the Hidden Falls. The track is mainly through bush and six hours later we were at Alabaster Hut. The fire was on and beds available.
Day 2: We left the hut at 6.30am so were walking in the dark for about 1.5 hours. The track became much rougher after crossing the Pyke swingbridge. The 6 hours from Alabaster to Demon Trail Hut was an undulating rocky track with tree fall. We arrived at Demon Trail Hut at 12.30pm. As it was another 5-6 hours to Hokuri, it was decided to stay at Demon Trail Hut for the night. The sunny afternoon with Tomtits, Tuis, Fantails and an amazing view over Lake McKerrow gave everyone a well needed boost. The sandflies loved Bill. With the fire on in the hut, we all had an early night in anticipation of a big day the next day.
Day 3: On the track at 6.30am, we crossed several three wire bridges. The Rainbow Creek swingbridge had been damaged by tree fall, so we found an alternative route. The Demon Trail is a rocky undulating route which can get tiresome so everyone was glad to see Hokuri Hut. A brief lunch here and then the route took us down to Lake McKerrow and alongside the lake for two hours. We stopped in to see the Wilderness Homestay, Charlies Place, which is only open when they have bookings. The bath is outside and half filled with water and frozen over, however there is a copper to heat the water!
Further along Lake McKerrow, is Jamestown, a settlement where Hugh and Malcolm McKenzie grazed cattle and drove them to saleyards at Mossburn, 250km away. They sold out to Davey Gunn in 1926. We continued through bush and it opened out to grass flats, including the airstrip. Late afternoon, we arrived at Martins Bay, with Kate chopping wood. The NZ Fur Seals were lapping up the sunshine and having “playtime” together in a swimming hole. The tramp in had not been easy and so, there was a real sense of achievement for all of us. There had been blue skies, sunshine and no wind for the entire weekend – for Fiordland, this was unbelievable.
The helicopter flight to Milford Sound was brilliant. Tim’s brother, Nic gave Robbie and I a ride back to the vehicles at Hollyford road end, and after some car shuffling, we headed home.
Many Thanks for being such a resilient and fantastic group to go tramping with.
Robbie, Kate, Jen, Tim, Bronwyn, Bill, Jane and Bess
A2O Windsor to Oamaru Bike Ride
Monday, May 30th, 2016
29th May 2016.
After a good soaking of rain on the previous day, I decided to postpone the bike ride from
Duntroon to Kurow as there was a possibilty of water in the crossings of the Otekaieke, Otiake,
and Kurow riverbeds. Instead three keen riders set off from the carpark at 8am in fine but overcast
conditions to bike to Windsor and return on the Alps to Ocean Cycleway.
Bill met us at the Weston Limeworks, as we cycled on the old railway embankment and over an
impressive new bridge towards Enfield.
The track meandered through farmland and around small streams which had become swollen after
the recent rain. At Elderslie we admired a huge pile of foam that had builtup at the bottom of a
small waterfall.
Light rain began to fall as we took a break for morning tea outside the fire station at Windsor.
On the return to Oamaru we were met at the top of the Windsor hill by Bev and Dave and by this
time the rain had stopped.
We arrived back in Oamaru just after midday after cycling 42 kilometers
Thanks to John, Bill, Bev, Dave and Maurice for braving the unpredictable weather.
Phyllis.
Kakanui Peak
Saturday, May 21st, 2016
Sunday the 15th May 2016
Seven of us meet at the car park at 7am on a cool and cloudy morning. The forecasts were for cloud in the morning and a wee bit of a shower in the afternoon. We all headed off with three more getting picked up on the way so by the time we regrouped in Palmerston our group of trampers was now eleven.
We drove through the Pigroot to the last crossing of the Shag River, just pass the Red Cutting Summit to park up in a clear area just off the road. I had decided that on this trip we would go up the ridge to the East and come down the leading ridge in the afternoon.
So at about 8.45am we headed off through the gate and followed the Shag stream to the start of a 4WD track that lead up the ridge. The track took us steadily up the ridge with the wind picking up a bit but with good views.
After about two hours we came across an old Skifield with an old ski hut, looking rather worse for wear and far from weatherproof, but still holding a number of old skis, old boots and a control box for the ski tow. Outside lay some old nutcracker belts and the ski rope lay along the line of the tow. We had morning tea here and had a good look around.
The wind was starting to get quite strong and cool, so off we headed following the old tow line to past a knob marking its top stanchion and up to a saddle which opened up some stunning views of Mt Dasher, Obi, Kattothyst and the Hectors Plateau. Just below the summit the wind dropped and it was quite pleasant till I took a look at our last 300m climb to the top.
We had to slog it through some very thick snow tussock with no animal tracks to follow but about 100m out it thinned out and the ground became rockier. The lower summit was passed and at 12.15pm we were on the top summit getting blown off.
Some photo’s were quickly taken at summit rock and then it was off to the side to find a tussock to hind behind to have lunch. John bought the record jar down from summit rock to have a look that it. Apart from the Wednesday Walkers it had been along time since the Tramping Club had been there. The records did show that a couple of our group had spent alot off time up there before, Linda and John. Lunch was had and we were starting to get cold so we signed the book, put it back on the summit and started to descent down the leading ridge.
The first part down was over stable scree and rock with a fierce westerly wind. Half of the way down was over tussocky ridges and humps to finally meet up with a 4WD track that took us down the ridge and over the shag creek and back to the cars, reaching them at about 2.45pm. The weather had held off with the sun trying to come out on our way down but it was very windy on top. It was an enjoyable day, with great views and great company.
Thanks to Maurice, Phyllis, Kate, Noel, Linda, Anna, Uwe, John, Jane and George on his first trip with the club. Neville
