Club Night February 2016

Tuesday, February 16th, 2016

North Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club

Clubnight Meeting 15^th February 2016

Being the first meeting of 2016, there were many trips and adventures to talk about.  Wednesday Walkers covered a wide area including Orokonui, Mt Studholme, Island Stream, Government Hill, Hospital Hill, Shag Point, Devils Elbow, Kurow Bike Trail, Herbert Forest and Clear Stream and in between walks, a barbeque get together.

Some of the tramping club members had a working bee in the Herbert Forest clearing the Swallows and the Hoods Creek tracks. Also Dave’s Track in the Trotters Gorge had a good clear out and pink ribbons placed for track identification. Other Tramping Club trips included Hectors Plateau, Mt David via Bayley’s Yards, Hideaway Biv and Ewe Range. A trip to Awakino with the focus on finding Black Daisies turned out to be extremely interesting.  Many alpine plants were identified particularly with the help of local botanists and photos of these can be found on the NOTMC website. Look in the Trip Reports Page.

Over Waitangi Weekend, the club tramped in the Hopkins Valley, staying at Dodger Hut. The side trip up Thomson Stream being the highlight.

At our meeting, several members brought tramping memorabilia from the old days and our President, Jane Green, showed slides of past trips including skiing on Tasman Glacier.

Tramping trips are planned up to the end of winter so please visit the website for contact details if you are interested in coming.  We also have a Guided Walks Day at the Herbert Forest on April 17^th and the public are most welcome.

Club Night October 2015

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

12th October 2015

With warmer weather recently, many walks were completed by the Wednesday Walkers, including Station Peak, Altavady Farm up to Stoney Ridge and Kurinui via Big Kuri Creek. The NOTMC trips included a big turnout for the A2O Bike Ride from Duntroon to Oamaru and a windy Devil’s Elbow.

Dave Mellish, a member of the club, gave an interesting talk about his trip to Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam. Singapore, a clean city, free from political corruption makes it unique. In Cambodia, Dave visited the Angkor Wot Temple which is virtually a square mile of rock. There are many Temples in Cambodia which are built in memory of past Kings. A trip on the Mekong Delta was an interesting experience. A visit to the Khmer Rouge Monument in Cambodia and the Vietnam War Museum subdued their trip however it was a huge part of their history. The locals in Vietnam did not have ill feeling towards New Zealanders from the Vietnam War, because tourism is now a part of Vietnam’s economy. Dave’s party hired a boat from Hanoi for two days and visited Halong Bay and Sung Sat Cave which is similar to Waitomo Caves . They went trekking in the Sapa area in which they saw Rice fields. Two local women followed them for the entire trip knowing that they would be able to sell them embroidered silk clothes and wall hangings.

Club Night September 2015

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

A number of walks were completed by the Wednesday Walkers including Teanaraki Escarpment, Seacliff Split Rock, Ben Lomond Ridge, Tapui Farm and Timaru Inland Walkway.

Club members enjoyed climbing Te Kohurau, walking Oamaru Cape and beach, plus Kakahu Bush.

Neville Corry, club member, talked about his recent tramps to the Heaphy Track and Abel Tasman Track. He was joined by several other club members and friends. The Heaphy Track is a 78km, 4 day tramp. On the first day they reached Perry Saddle Hut and Neville and Rex climbed Mt Perry. Next day was 28km to McKay Hut, then to Heaphy Hut. All huts on this track had been renewed since 2010.

The Abel Tasman track and the Inland Track is 100km.  First day was to Anchorage Hut, second day to Awaroa Hut Inlet. Third day took in bush and bays including Separation Point which separates Golden Bay and Tasman Bay. DOC is trying to establish a gannet colony on Separation Point so they have “dummy” gannets with recorded sounds to attract gannets. Third night was at Wharewharangi Hut and fourth day was to tramp to Pigeon Saddle. They then completed the Inland Track. Abel Tasman Track meanders through native bush and into many bays.

Clubnight August 2015

Tuesday, August 11th, 2015

With a combined group from NOTMC and North Otago Search and Rescue, our guest speaker was David Ellis from Earth Sea Sky, outdoor performance clothing specialists. Ephraim Ellis, David’s Great Great Grandfather worked for the Kaikorai Valley Woollen Mills and from there his son Arthur formed Arthur Ellis Ltd in 1913. They manufactured mattresses followed with bedding and Arthurs’s son Roland Ellis was first to manufacture sleeping bags and these Fairydown sleeping bags became world famous thanks to Ed Hillary’s Mt Everest expedition and the 1958 South Pole expedition in 1958. Murray Ellis, an engineer, was a member of the South Pole expedition. David Ellis and his wife Jane established Earth Sea Sky 25 years ago and they concentrate on the design and marketing of their clothing and contract out the production to four NZ firms. They are driven to make the best performance outdoor clothing therefore comfort, warmth and protection are the key elements in their layering theory. For comfort, clothing needs to be dry so any skin moisture needs to be absorbed by the first layer of clothing and readily evaporate, Bi-component Polyester is ideal. The second layer is the heat trapping layer and Polarfleece is ideal because it releases moisture quickly. However Polarfleece is not wind proof or waterproof so the third layer needs to have this function therefore the jacket acts as the protection layer. Earth Sea Sky supplies clothing to Antarctica scientists and support crews, Westpac Rescue Teams, DOC and the NZ Police Peacekeeping Force in the Pacific Islands.

Club Night July 2015

Monday, July 20th, 2015

North Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club Meeting 13^th July 2015

The Wednesday Walkers enjoyed several trips this month including Otamatapaio Valley, Earthquakes Area, a Papakaio farm, Totara Estate, Moeraki and surrounds plus Burnett’s farm at Kauru Hill.

The NOTMC members enjoyed a trip to Orbells Cave near 3 o’clock stream. Eight members completed a 6 day trip of the Abel Tasman Track with brilliant weather and they particularly enjoyed the history at Separation Point in which the hut was over 100 years old.

Maurice Gray, a member of the club, spoke of his involvement with DOC volunteer programmes. A DOC volunteer programme can be a week, two weeks or as much as 3 months long. Maurice spoke about a recent 8 day voluntary programme at Port Pegasus, Stewart Island.  Gold was discovered here in 1882 and later tin was found within the black sand which became more prominent than the gold. Consequently, sluices, a dam, a post office and a 4 km tram line from Diprose Bay was established. DOC spend a week here every two years to clear the wooden tramline of vegetation plus clear vegetation from the remaining artefacts so that they don’t get lost forever. The team included Maurice who was one of 6 volunteers, two DOC staff, a skipper and a deck hand. They slept on the DOC boat each night.  During their preservation work, they unearthed a blacksmith forge which was not known to be there so they were pleased to have added to the history of Port Pegasus.

Another Voluntary programme was that of maintenance on the Dusky Track in which Maurice, another volunteer and one DOC staff were flown to Loch Maree Hut to clean the hut and carry out repairs and maintenance on a nearby walkwire bridge over the Seaforth River.

Maurice and his wife Phyllis completed a two week volunteer programme on Ulva Island, near Stewart Island. He thoroughly enjoys his time working for a good cause and meeting like minded people.  Application forms for Voluntary Programmes can be found at a DOC office or on their website.