Club Night July 2016

Tuesday, July 12th, 2016

There were two safety notices.

Blakely Pacific are Harvesting trees in the Herbert Forest. While not directly near walking tracks care still needs to be taken on their roads.

DOC are undertaking possum control in the Lake Ohau area.

Trip reports:

Wednesday Walkers had four walks over the last month. A circuit to Douglas Rock on Dome Hills Station, the Black Cap – Scout Hill circuit, the Weston escarpment circuit, and a farm walk near Baghdad Rd.

The tramping Club had no trips that actually went so we heard about a members walk on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Planned Club trips are to Mts. McKenzie & Trotter, a bike ride in the Kakanui area, and an overnight trip to Mt. Summers. More details are on the NOTMC website.

Our guest speaker was local botanist Hugh Wood who gave a talk and showed slides about the flora and fauna from the Southern Ocean to the Mountain tops of the Mount Cook National Park.

He started off at the Auckland Islands where the Hooker sea lions are affected by canine distemper with only 25% of 1994 numbers left. We also saw yellow eyed penguins, gentians that are purple, and mega herbs whose leaves are designed to act like solar panels and collect mist droplets for their roots.

Then it was to the Chatham Islands featuring the Chatham Island Forget-me- not, to the Waipapa Point gentians, Curio Bay fossilised trees, and Trotters Gorge limestone formations, Celmisia Hookeri and sun orchids.

The Waitaki Valley featured Clematis  Afoliata near Georgetown, vegetable sheep on the Kirkliston Range, mountain dragon flies that used to be the size of seagulls in the Crustacean Period, buttercups on the Awakino Saddle, and native convolvulus on the Otematata Saddle.

The mistletoe at Lake Ohau is now growing on the matagouri thanks to DOCs possum control, but the bright pink flowers of the hebe, Swainsona novae-zelandiae on the Ben Ohau Range are being eaten by the hares.

Our most intelligent bird, the kea is declining in numbers, estimated to be between 1000 and 5000. It is hoped a more accurate count will be done soon.

Hugh’s slides showed the full colour of the native plants and mountain scenery and his wide ecological knowledge, memory of plant names and their distribution area here in our own back yard gave us a new  perspective into the places we tramp.

Club Night June 2016

Tuesday, June 14th, 2016

Walking clears the mind and is good exercise. When this is done away from the busy town life, you get to leave it all behind and enjoy the company of like minded people. The walks that we go on are not that strenuous and we have plenty of destinations to cater for all fitness levels. Recently the Wednesday Walkers walked along Moeraki beach, climbed Elephant Hill which incidentally, still looks like an elephant. Also Timaru Walkway, Kuriheka and Boundary Creek. The NOTMC tramped Kakanui Peak which featured relics from ski field days of the 1950’s. A few braved a cold Sunday to bike ride to Windsor. Queen’s Birthday was spent tramping the Hollyford Track in perfect weather conditions with birdlife, seals and a helicopter ride to Milford Sound for rewards. Our Guest Speaker for the evening was Ian Sutherland, who provided lively tales of cycling trails in NZ and overseas. He has biked extensively in the North Otago hill country, plus the Manapouri Pylon Road, Skippers, Heaphy and several North Island tracks have felt the tread of Ian’s bike too. Germany’s Moselle Valley allowed Ian and his friends to bike during the day while enjoying a Barge boat ride along the Rhine in the evening. He has biked in the Burgundy Valley, France and an Amsterdam Bike Tour. A week long bike ride near Lake Tahoe, California was a warm up for another ride in Colorado where ski runs were used as tracks, without the snow!

Club Night May 2016

Wednesday, May 25th, 2016

The AGM was held with President Jane Green being elected for another term. Over the last year, the Club has been busy with many walks and maintenance of the Herbert Forest. Wednesday Walkers have enjoyed walks in the Waitaki Valley. The Guest Speaker, Ian Davies, was the leader of saving indigenous trees in the Herbert Forest while he worked for the NZ Forest Service. From 1965, approximately 100 acres per year of gorse and native trees were burned to make way for Pinus radiata. The NZ Forest Service base was located in Dunedin and Ian asked them to consider a walking track which they agreed to, “for the loopies”. Ian then surveyed a track and when the weather was not suitable for forestry work, the employees worked on the track. This was the Podocarp Track established approximately 1968. School groups started to use the track and Ian became their Guide. In the early 1970’s, the Glenburnie and Hoods Creek Tracks were established by the Forestry. Thanks to Ian’s interest in indigenous trees and his initiative, many people have been enjoying these tracks for years and will continue to do so.

Club Night April 2016

Tuesday, April 12th, 2016

The April Club meeting guest speakers were from DOC, Andy Powazynski and Tom Waterhouse. Based in Oamaru, they cover the area from Geraldine to Shag Point and inland to Kurow. They provided an overview of what DOC is actively doing in this region and with only three rangers and limited funds, resources are stretched to say the least. This is mostly due to the 2013 structural change within the department when 600 jobs were cut. The Earthquakes area is now owned by DOC and is getting a revamp however with the sink holes there, there are public safety issues. DOC, along with the Waitaki branch of the Forest and Bird Society have been planting Kowhai trees in the Gards Road area to preserve the uniqueness of this area. Also DOC is involved with the Cape Wanbrow native planting. Using a GPS, Tom mapped out the tracks in Trotters Gorge, provided it to the Asset Planner, however because only the Loop track existed originally, the other tracks will not be put onto new brochures/websites. DOC Tramping tracks in North Otago are getting maintained however, the squeeze is on and DOC’s mantra is to invite local groups who use these tracks to help maintain them, to the point of signing an agreement that the group will fund and maintain a track, to DOC’s standard of workmanship. Are volunteer hours a necessity to save our tracks?

Our next meeting is on the 9th May, AGM followed by Herbert Forest History, public are welcome. www.notmc.org.nz

Club Night March 2016

Wednesday, April 6th, 2016

March 14^th 2016

Instead of going in via Chinaman’s Hut, a new route to Grayson Peak was walked, starting from the Mt Buster 4WD track, which enabled a 2 hour climb to the top. From here, they walked on to Green Gully, Brown Hut and back to vehicles.

Wednesday Walkers enjoyed a recent five day Biking trip to the West Coast Wilderness Trail, enjoying the tram track, Lake Kaniere and some fantastic hospitality.

Noel Pullan and Ross Familton, both members of the NOTMC, recently visited Kathmandu and walked in to Mt Everest Base Camp. Noel treated us to a personal, once in a lifetime, narrative of his expedition. With the help of a Guide and two Porters, who would carry packs weighing up to 95kg each, walked to Base Camp. En route, they visited Khunde Hillary Hospital which is run by the Canadian Government.  They also visited Monjo School where Noel gifted them a banner “Oamaru North School” from his grandchildren, Jordyn and Maddison. The school was also given Beanies from Canterbury Spinners and pencils from Bev Pullan.

Gorak Shep is the last village before Base Camp, with many peaks close by that could be climbed.

Noel and Ross climbed Kala Patthar (5550m).  At Base Camp, they went to the Khumbu Icefall, the ever-shifting, jagged, building-size blocks of ice which give climbers a taste of what is to come. Here, they were able to track a Japanese man and his party attempting to summit – for the third time. Over the 8 days walking and two days of rest, Noel took many photographs and due to clear skies, the photographs of snow topped mountains and blue skies were exceptional.

The next NOTMC meeting will be the AGM on 9^th May at the Search and Rescue Rooms in Severn St. Website is www.notmc.org.nz