Club Night October 2014

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

An evening to encourage prospective members to ‘give tramping a go’ was full of helpful information and it was good to welcome some visitors. Member John, told us why he’d taken up tramping and shared photos of some wonderful locations which are ‘right on our back door’. Other members gave practical advice on boots, packs, parkas, food, clothing (with Neville doing a spot of stripping! )and first aid. Being properly equipped is vital, as photos of a recent trip to the Hump Ridge Track so clearly reinforced. Club members are always willing to share helpful tips with newcomers.

Wednesday Walkers have been busy exploring various parts of Otago. The walk from Doctors Point, through magnificent coastal caves to Mapoutahi Pa and Osbourne, then up the hill to Mopanui was a delight. Other walks were from South Peak to Pigeon Bush, Table Top from the One Tree Ridge block and Studholme Bush in the Waimate Gorge and on up to the White Horse. A Waimate icecream before heading home is always a highlight.

It was good to travel over the new Kurow bridge to the Hakataramea Valley from where the group met the Hakataramea River at the end of Hatcheries Road and followed the river gorge back to Highway 82 before continuing up Old Slip Road.

NOTMC trips included a day on the Milleneum Track following the Taieri River for 2½  hours between Taieri Mouth and Henley (and return), and a weekend on the Hump Ridge Track, where nine members encountered blizzard conditions, water taps frozen and temperatures below zero. Prospective members – DO NOT be put off!

Hump Ridge Track, 2nd October 2014

Friday, October 10th, 2014

With bad weather forecast for the next few days, I had my doubts about embarking on a trip to Southland to walk the Hump Ridge Track. However after picking up our fellow trampers, nine of us set off for Tuatapere in a mini-van anticipating rain and snow over the next 3 days. First stop was in Gore for tea and then we carried on to our accommodation at Tuatapere, arriving in daylight. The host was very helpful and gave us three rooms so none of us had to climb up to top bunks. [The climbing was still to come]. Some went and explored the township in between rain showers while others played table tennis and watched television, before retiring to bed.

The next morning was cool and overcast with the odd shower as we drove 20kms to the Rarakau Farm carpark. With parkas on, we set off walking at 8am, firstly through bush for half an hour and then down a long set of steps leading to Bluecliffs Beach in Te Waewae Bay. The track then crossed the Waikoau River on a swing-bridge past some cribs and on to a 4wheel-drive track, punctuated with puddles until we reached the beach. It made pleasant walking, but at times we were forced to scramble up onto stones to avoid the incoming waves. After an early lunch on the veranda of a hut, we crossed the Track Burn stream and walked in bush until the turn-off to the Okaka Hut at Flat Creek. It started with an easy amble through the forest until forty minutes of continuous boardwalk followed. As the terrain became steeper, we were pelted with several hail storms, but the hail-stones were small and dry so just bounced off our parkas. White patches like small polystyrene balls appeared on the ground. A shelter at Water Bridge was a welcome sight where we sat inside and had another lunch as several more hail storms passed through. The bridge across the stream was well-named as there was a billy tied onto a rope which could be lowered deep down for the last chance of getting water before the Okaka Hut, 9kms away.

The gradient became a lot steeper and the hail on the ground had turned into snow. From Stag Point we had views back down to Te Waewae Bay and also to the Hut. After leaving the sheltered bush, we were buffeted by strong wind gusts on the tops, sometimes almost getting blown off the boardwalk. The snow became deeper as we climbed, arriving at the hut at mid-afternoon. Snow had to be cleared before opening the door to the bunkrooms. The taps were frozen so Maurice and Noel climbed onto the tank stand and bailed out water to use for cooking and drinking. Because there was no gas or heating, we all put on extra layers of dry clothing and welcomed a hot brew in the kitchen in which the temperature was -1.6 degrees. It did rise to 5degrees after the cookers warmed it up.

We were joined by 4 other trampers for the night. A game of UNO kept us entertained with Neville coming out the winner, meanwhile the temperature outside remained in the minus’s. A loud clap of thunder and a spectacular flash of lightening startled us all, but fortunately that was to be the only one. With extra clothing on, we slid into our sleeping bags and hoped for good weather the next day. More snow fell during the night, but no rain. As it was murky and windy in the morning, we decided not to walk the loop around the tarns, instead leaving at 8:30am we backtracked for 30 minutes to the turn-off to Port Craig. Boardwalk and steps up and down took us to Luncheon Rock where we got views through the parting cloud of Te Waewae Bay, Lake Poteriteri and a viaduct. An early lunch was taken in the shelter before descending through the podocarp and silver beech forest to the junction with the tramline at Edwin Burn Viaduct. After following the tramline we reached Percyburn Viaduct which was closed due to restoration work. A detour took us down steep steps, across a bridge and a climb up the other side, while viewing the underside of Percyburn some 36metres above us. Second lunch was taken on the veranda of the Percyburn Restoration Trust Hut before a long walk on the tramline to Port Craig Hut where we arrived at mid-afternoon. With the luxury of running water at 2 sinks and an efficient log fire we were soon relaxing in the old converted school. Later we took a tour around the remaining relics and out to the remains of the old wharf at the Port Craig Town. On-site interpretation panels enabled us to get an insight of how the timber was milled, handled and shipped out between 1916 and 1928.

The ports, whiskeys and homemade brews came out before tea and then we played UNO once again with Dave winning this time.

Just after 7am on Sunday we departed Port Craig and followed a well graded track to walk the 17kms to the car park. The day was fine and parkas were stashed away in the packs. At times we got glimpses of Stewart Island and the beach as we made our way through the forest up on terraces.

A few quick dashes around headlands to dodge the incoming waves took us to Blowholes Beach for morning tea, Track Burn for lunch and then back to the car park, arriving at 12:30pm.

With a change of clothes and lots of stretching, we were on our way home, stopping at Winton, Clinton and Hampden where we had fish and chips and paua patties for tea.

Although it was cold at Okaka Hut, we had survived a tramp in hail, snow, wind and sunshine, with beautiful scenery and great company.

Thanks to Bronwyn, Jane, Noel, Dave, Murray, Neville, John and Maurice..

Phyllis

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Mt. Ida

Tuesday, July 29th, 2014

Sunday 27th July 2014

A party of nine, consisting of Bill Bews, John Chetwin, Ross Familton, Murray Gifford, Maurice & Phyllis Gray, Dunedin visitors Rodney & Helen Meiklejohn and Trip Organiser Noel Pullan, assembled in the Medway Street car park from 7:45am.  After the road access and route details were presented by Noel, we were soon organised into three vehicles and on our way to Wedderburn, via Palmerston and the Pigroot, a few minutes after 8:00am.

Apart from the back seat heckling Noel endured from Ross en-route, the rest of us had a relatively uneventful drive through to Wedderburn and around 9:45am we pulled over to the side of State Highway 85, 3.1 kilometres past Wedderburn, as Noel had turned into what appeared to be the driveway of a farm paddock.  As Maurice and I were expecting the nice, metalled road described by Noel earlier and indicated on the Idaburn map as the access road to Little Mount Ida, we assumed that he had taken the wrong turn-off and so we continued on past the Ida Valley-Omakau Road intersection expecting to find this elusive metalled road.  However, after further road-side discussions and assurances from Noel (not to mention a couple of bites of humble pie after incorrectly assuming Noel had taken the wrong turn-off), we turned around and headed back to the previous turn-off that he had indeed correctly identified.  Our car was left at the gate, just off the main road, so we all continued on towards Little Mount Ida in the two 4WD vehicles on the metalled road obscured by the muddy state of its mid-winter condition. About 7 kilometres later the road took a right-angled turn and began winding its way up Little Mount Ida to the television transmitter and building on top.  At this right-angled corner, at 740 metres, we parked the vehicles, put on our gear and got underway at 10:30am.  We followed a 4WD track, initially heading north before climbing briefly and turning to the north-east to the base of Mount Ida itself.

The top 200 metres or so of the Ida Range was covered in cloud, which looked particularly cold given the fresh snow that had recently fallen.  But, with no real wind to speak of, we carried on; hoping that the sun would eventually break through the overcast sky and the top of the range would also clear.  However, it was soon apparent that the cloud probably wasn’t going to lift to accommodate our intentions, so Bill and Phyllis opted to continue along an adjoining 4WD track that headed south-east and up to the saddle between the southern ridge line of Mount Ida and Little Mount Ida, with a view towards making the shorter ascent of Little Mount Ida and descending to the vehicles via the access road.  So, we parted company and the remaining seven of us headed straight up the quite step spur leading directly to the summit of Mount Ida over a series of rocky outcrops.

The fresh snow was boot-deep in places and knee-deep in others, dependent upon whether there was rock or vegetation underneath.  However, we gained height quickly and by 12:30pm had climbed the steepest part of the spur before stopping for lunch at about 1400 metres, with just one more rocky outcrop remaining to be surpassed in order to gain access to the upper ridge leading to the summit at 1690 metres.  But, stopping for lunch revealed just how cold it was without any direct sunlight, and with obvious white-out conditions waiting to envelope us as the cloud was actually lowering, common sense prevailed and so after lunch we turned around and headed back down our ascent route.

We hadn’t seen any sign of Bill and Phyllis since they’d headed off to climb Little Mount Ida, but as Maurice and Ross got down off the Mount Ida spur very quickly, they raced-off along the 4WD track in the direction of Little Mount Ida and made short work of the ascent to the saddle and on to the top.  The rest of us made our way back to the vehicles, which were reached by 2:50pm, where Bill and Phyllis had arrived half an hour earlier.  Maurice and Ross were soon spotted quickly descending the road on Little Mount Ida and once we were all back together again, the Wedderburn Tavern was elected as the ideal venue for a trip ‘debrief’, over an assortment of beer and coffee.

By the time we were back on the road, around 4:20pm, the top of the Ida Range had finally cleared, as had some of the familiar peaks of the St. Marys Range.  Once at Kyeburn, Helen and Rodney headed back to Dunedin via Middlemarch on State Highway 87, with the rest of the party returning to Oamaru via the Pigroot and Palmerston.

Regardless of personal experience gained from years of private excursions into the North Otago ranges and further afield, the company of the wonderful people of the North Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club and the inestimable combined wealth of knowledge and experience that is freely shared by those long-standing members who provide their services as Trip Organisers, is incomparable.  It truly is a privilege to spend a day out in the hills with these people and I would recommend the experience to anyone contemplating such an adventure, whether you’re ultimately considering club membership or are visitors to the club (like us), you are graciously welcomed by one and all.

Thanks very much to John, Murray, Ross, Bill, Maurice & Phyllis and, of course, Noel, for a great day out, regardless of the outcome.  It was an absolute pleasure to be in your company.

Rodney & Helen Meiklejohn (Dunedin).

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July Club Meeting

Monday, July 28th, 2014

This hardy group has been out and about despite it being the middle of winter.

Some club members tramped to Big Hut on the Rock and Pillar Range, for the annual midwinter trip where the evening meal culminated with the almost legendary pot luck dessert.  The superb new Leaning Lodge hut was a good place to stop for lunch en route. Lake Sutton and Macraes were visited on the journey home the following day.

High river levels meant a trip to Hidden Biv in the Ahuriri Valley became a walk up the zigzag near Ahuriri Base Hut. Walkers encountered snow on the ridge so didn’t linger.

Wednesday Walkers enjoyed a varied month  which included Slatey Creek to Belmont Hill, Split Rock at Seacliff and an old graveyard at Bryn’s Point, Dome Hill, Boundary Creek with local ‘historian’ Keith Plunket , and the Waihao Walkway.

Forthcoming Club trips are to Mt Ida from Wedderburn and to Ben Lomond from Campbell Park returning via the Bridal Track.

President Jane shared her experiences on a self-guided bike trip across Europe last year and took us on a fascinating journey through four countries, beginning in Prague in the Czech Republic, then Austria, Slovakia and Hungary – often on rough back roads .

She and her husband Graham, encountered a heatwave in July/August last year and were very glad of iced coffees and cold beers at the end of long days cycling in temperatures of 35-40°C. In one area they encountered trucks spraying water on the road to cool it down. A town in Slovakia had 350 practising dentists. The heat wasn’t the only challenge – very few people they met spoke English and the GPS provided by the tour company frequently proved unhelpful. But they made it, clocking up 1113km in 19 days.

Mt. Dryburgh, 8-6-14

Wednesday, June 18th, 2014

Ten of us met at the car park on a clear but cool morning, all looking for a good hike for the day. We headed off up the Waitaki Valley, meeting Tim at Duntroon on the way. As we got closer to Kurow and the lakes the fog was down quite low. We all headed for the Fisherman’s Bend camping ground were we parked in a corner on the northern side of the camp by a fence.
It was on with the day packs and over the fence to meet up with a farm track that headed east back down toward the Waitaki Dam on the northern side of the lake. After about an hour we came to a 4WD track that headed up a steep wee valley towards Mt Dryburgh. Half way up, the track turned east for a bit and then turned north to meet up with a main track that goes along the tops of the hills.
The fog had lifted a bit and we got good views of the lakes and dams, right down the Waitaki  river and up the Hakataramea valley. After looking at the map and working out where Dryburgh was, we finally got to the top, which is just a high spot on the hill tops, just in time for lunch at about 12.15pm . The fog and views came and went while we were having lunch.
After lunch we had a photo take by the marker post and then it was off along the track heading west. By this time the fog had lifted but we still missed our turn off that was going to take us back down to the lake. It didn’t take long for us to realize our mistake and soon we were on the right track back down towards the lake.
We came back down on to the track by the lake about 2km east of where we had the cars parked, so  we were soon back at the cars after about a 19 km hike for the day.
Thanks to Linda, Murray, Maurice, Phyllis, Bill, Roz, Jac, Jane, John and Tim for making it an enjoyable day out, Neville.

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