Author Archive
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
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
Beyond Trotters Gorge
Wednesday, September 14th, 2016
Sunday the 4th September 2016
Five of us met at the car park at 8am and headed down to the Trotters Gorge Reserve. I picked up John and Jane on the way and when we got to the Reserve we were met by the Rickerby family. Karen is the daughter of one of our previous club members Dave Sinclair who passed away about 10 years ago too young. Karen had heard about the track the club had named after her dad, but had never been up it before, so it was a nice thing for them to do on father’s day.
The day was cloudy and cool so it was on with the day packs and we headed off up the valley. Trotter’s creek was running a bit high so it was wet feet all round with the 6 creek crossings up to the start of Dave’s track. The club had spent a day in February cleaning up the track and it looked like it had been well used since then. Everyone enjoyed the ½ hour hike up the marked route and a snack break was taken when we climbed up out of the valley. It was then on to the forest road and up past South Peak.
A cool wind had now picked up from the nor/east, so it was good to find the track back in the forest that goes past North Peak. By now the mist and fog and a bit of drizzle had set in so it was no use in climbing up North Peak for any views. At this point we split into two groups, with Maurice, Phyllis and Ross taking the Rickerby family back. They headed back around South Peak, down Fantail Rd and had Lunch at the University Hut before heading back to the cars.
Our group of four carried on to see if there was still a track out onto the top end of Easons Rd. Last time I was up there the track we had used was covered in gorse, but the track we were on was a good track and we had seen the old track but it looked a bit over grown.
So we stayed on the good track and soon we popped out onto Easons Rd about 3km down from the communication tower.
Our plan was to walk up the road to just before the tower and take another track down to Pigeon Bush. The wind, mist and fog were not going to make it a good walk up the road so we popped back into the bush to have lunch out of the wind where we decided we would go back to South Peak and drop down to Pigeon Bush from there.
On the way back we had great views not but we were soon on the track down to Pigeon Bush which was getting a bit over grown in gorse in places.
We had permission from the farmer to follow Pigeon creek down through the gorge with plenty of creek crossings and wet feet along the way. We soon met up with Trotters creek which we followed back down to the University hut, where we had a break before heading back to the car. The whole day took about 6 and half hours and about 19km.
Thanks to Maurice, Phyllis, Ross F, John, Jane, Debbie who was out on her first Club trip and Karen, Georgia, Riley, Marek and Nigel for their company for the day
Neville
Mount Difficulty
Thursday, September 1st, 2016
Sunday 28 August 2016
The promised fine weather window developed after some heavy rain earlier in the week. Six trampers from Oamaru drove the 35km to The Dasher , meeting up with Rodney and Helen on the way. We were met and briefed by the runholder, Grant McNaughton and set off west just on 9 o’clock. The initial stage took us across country on farm tracks, then down a steep tussock ridge to the Kauru River at its junction with Hughie Stream. On the way down we heard the barking of hunters’ dogs further up the Kauru valley. The Kauru River at this point runs through a deep, steep-sided valley – almost a gorge – heading in a straightish north-easterly line towards Kauru Hill along what is clearly a geological fault.
It was now 10.30 so the riverside seemed a good spot for smoko. The next stage was a steep climb up a zig-zag, followed by alternating flatter stretches and further climbs which, an hour later, brought us out on to the plateau surrounding Mount Difficulty on the west and north. Looking across the many-headed Hughie Stream we could see Mount Hut by a lone pine tree sitting in a shallow saddle below Mount Difficulty. The hut looked like the perfect lunch destination but, the further we went, the further away it seemed to get. Eventually, after traversing up and down around the Hughie headwaters, we reached the hut four hours after the off. It was indeed an excellent lunch venue – cosy but with seats for all and the luxury of an open-air dunny to boot.
At 1.30 we set off on the gentle, half-hour climb across tussock and rocks to the top of Mount Difficulty. Time for photos and taking in the 3600 panorama from an unfamiliar viewpoint, and we started down off the east end of the hill towards a track and fenceline we could see below. The track took us back down to the Kauru River which we crossed easily an hour after leaving the top. There we had a choice: the traditional route up Mackerras Creek or a shorter but much steeper track up a spur east of the creek which would take us more or less directly back to the cars. We opted for the creek – it promised to be easier going (we had plenty of time) and we could go past the historic slate quarry (mined by the Otago Slate Company in the late 1800s to supply roofing material for the burgeoning city of Dunedin). Another hour’s steady climb took us to the top of the valley to complete our circuit and, after another fifteen minutes, we were back at the cars by 4.30.
The total trip was just on 21km and took 7½ hours, about 6½ hours of which was on the move. We had climbed (and descended) over 1000 metres. Although most of us had been to Mount Difficulty before, the route we had taken was new to all of us. An excellent day, with fine weather, great views and a good workout for Jane, Anna, Helen, Rodney, Neville, Ross, Sam and John. Thanks to Grant and Charlotte McNaughton for their hospitality.
