Nimrod Scenic Reserve and Easement
Sunday 17th July
A carload of us left Oamaru at 8am and turned off the state highway 1 and onto Pareora Gorge Road, and then lastly on to Back line Road and into the Nimrod Camping Area. Just before reaching the camping sites, there was a newly constructed Glamping stay, which did look welcoming. A frosty start for some campers at the camping area which even has flush toilets. We began our day by going anti clockwise up through the bush which was surprisingly dry underfoot considering the rain we have had. We stopped 10.45ish for a snack at the turnoff to the easement. Here we could see other trampers who were on the southern ridge high point that we would be on later in the day. From here, we continued up the track and through the gate which accessed the easement track. The further up we got the colder the wind got but also we were able to see snow capped Mt Somers, Dobson and Mt Hutt. At 11.30, Julian suggested an early lunch on the hill to the left so a short walk up through tussock and after some photos and confirming which farm track is access to Mt Nimrod, we sheltered in behind tussock for lunch.
After lunch, we returned to the Nimrod Reserve loop track and down to the picturesque waterfall which has a rock arch and plenty of water flowing through it. With photos taken, we continued up the steep track onto a small flat area to catch out breath and then on up the south ridge. Looking back from here, the waterfall can be seen through the bush. At the top of the south ridge, Banks Peninsula can be seen in the distance. Halfway down the south ridge, we heard a Falcon though it wasn’t overly concerned we were there. This Reserve was recognised for its birdlife as early as 1891 and it has been logged, burned and stock grazed however it became a Scenic Reserve in 1932. Back to the cars by 2.15 and to Oamaru by 4pm.
Thanks for your company Rob, Jenny, Julian and Neville. Bess
Club Night July 2022
11 July 2022
Trip Reports
The Quarintine Island trip could hardly be classified as a tramping trip but 19 members along with some partners took the oportunity to visit this Otago Harbour Island.
9 members walked the cliff tops and beach from Andersons Lagoon to the Shag River Mouth. Some excellent views of the local wildlife, sometimes in action, were had.
The Wednesday Walkers walked the Timaru inland walkway from Saltwater Creek, did a circuit from Windsor up Peaks Road returning via the A2O bike track, a Ngapara Farm walk, and the Seacliff- Split Rock circuit.
Coming Trips
1. Nimrod Reserve, going up the zig zag track, before returning and doing the loop track.
2. Cass Valley weekend on the west side of Lake Tekapo.
3. An A2O bike ride from Oamaru.
4. Snow shoeing and cross country skiing at the Pisa Range snow farm.
5. A September event reminder of a snow skills weekend at Awakino.
Please look at “What’s On” for more information and booking cutoff dates.
Quiz Night
Members enjoyed a quiz on tramping topics organized by Bess, which included identifying bird song, recognizing huts, lakes and map points. A correct answer was rewarded with a chocolate fish and no yellow cards were issued!
Andersons Lagoon
Sunday 3 July 2022
A perfect day for a walk by the seaside: fine, sunny, blue skies, cool with a light north-westerly breeze.
Nine trampers drove the 65 kms from Oamaru to the end of Anderson Road, off the Goodwood Road
east of Palmerston. Shortly after 9 o’clock we set off walking along the track through a replanted area
beside Andersons Lagoon. The lagoon itself was fairly high but the track remained dry.
After about half a km the track reached Stony Creek beach and we turned north, past the closed mouth
of the lagoon to the steel ladder which climbed up the cliff. It was about half tide, which meant that the
beach route would be impassable, so we climbed the ladder and the following zig-zag steps up to reach the
esplanade walking track which undulated along the clifftops for some two kms, crossing several small
streams on the way. In several places, patches of New Zealand spinach appeared and were sampled.
Eventually the track turned down an awkward bank where a fixed rope provided some support as we
dropped down to the beach. It was now 10.20 so we settled down for a leisurely morning tea in the
bright sunshine under the cliff. After half an hour or so, we packed up again and headed up the sandy
beach which would take us to our end point at the mouth of the Waihemo-Shag River. On the way we
were entertained by wildlife. There were rows of spotted shags nesting on rocky ledges like tenements
in an old European city. Some nests had two occupants but most had one; all were resplendent in their
breeding plumage with double crests and blue eye patches.
Further along, we came across half a dozen basking sea lions but none seemed energetic enough to
threaten our progress. A myriad of tracks across the sand suggested that many more were either secluded
in the sand dunes or had gone out to sea.
At a quarter to twelve, we reached the end of the beach and settled down on the Shag Estuary side of
the sand dunes for lunch in the sunshine and to take in the full view up the river with the snowy Rock
and Pillar Range just poking above the intervening hills. Half an hour later we packed up and wandered
over to the river mouth.
The river had a steady flow, which would have made crossing tricky. Then we saw a large bull sea lion
emerge from the surf and heave his way up on to the beach on the other side.
At the same time, another, smaller, sea lion could be seen splashing its way down the river from the
estuary. It, too, clambered out of the water and up on to the north-side beach. There the two sea lions
got together and demonstrated why the river and headland may not have been named after birds.
Not to seem too voyeuristic, we turned around and started the homeward leg back down the beach.
We got to the cove where we had come down from the high track. The intention had been to go back
along at beach level as far as possible but it soon became clear that, although it was only one hour after
low tide, the combination of a relatively high low tide and strong waves from the south-east made the
headlands impassable. So we all clambered up the awkward bank and walked back along the ups and
downs of the clifftop track until the steel ladder took us down again to the beach at Stony Creek. A short
walk along the beach and up the side of the lagoon took us back to the cars at 2.15. The combination of
sunshine, seascape, cliffs, beach and wildlife had made for an interesting day which was enjoyed by
Phyllis, Maurice, Lynette, Julian, Jenny, Emily, Robbie, Uwe and John.
MEETING OF THE NOTMC, 13 JUNE, 2022.
MEETING OF THE NOTMC, 13 JUNE, 2022.
The meeting was attended by16 people.
There was no inward correspondence to be noted.
TRIP REPORTS: Trips were made to Studholmes Bush and the White Horse
near Waimate, and Mt. Dryburgh.
Wednesday Walkers went to a variety of
places- Kauru Hill, Waihao Forks,Tapui, Durden Hill and Mt. Baldie near
Waikouaiti, and Enfield Escarpment.
Jonathan gave a presentation of items from the
Club’s archives including programmes, gear lists, trip accounts
accompanied by wonderful line drawings and odd snatches of poetry
(doggerel?)from the Club publication “Footprints” in 1987 when Dave
Mellish was President and Jenny Kitchin (Gray) was Secretary, and going
on until 1991.Accounts included a 9day trip on the Dusky Track , trips
to Fox’s Peak, thr Greenstone /Caples and many other 3-5 day trips.
There was a wonderful account of Ian Roger’s opinion of the newly
introduced GPS system- cost $6671.00 then- and a great caricature of him
done up in a metal suit and wheeling the whole contraption in a
wheelbarrow. There were some really entertaining trip reports and we
recognised a number of familiar names – many still going strong- all of
this made for a very entertaining evening.
REPORT OF 46th AGM of NOTMC, 9 May , 2022.
REPORT OF 46th AGM of NOTMC, 9 May , 2022.
Fourteen members were present. There were 4 apologies.
Minutes of the 45th AGM were read.
President’s Report: This noted that member ship numbers were steady,
standing currently at 86.
Thirtytwo trips were listed and 21 went with a total of 40 people.
Covid concerns affected a number of trips.
Treasurer’s Report: this showed a healthy year with total income of
$2221.38 and a cash surplus of $255.38
$45 family; $30 single; $15 social: $10 students.
Election of Officers: President; Julian Hardy
Verhoef
Committee: Karyl Robertson, Julia Christie, Bess Allan, John Chetwin,
Jenny Kitchin.
There was no general business and the meeting closed at 7.50 p.m.
The normal meeting which followed noted there had been no Club
nights since February due to Covid.
Expeditions had been to the the Cameron Valley, the Otago
Harbour Bike Track after crossing from Port Chalmers to Portobello, up
Ben Ohau, Mt. Miserable- biking from the Reid Road carpark to Kahikatea
Hut, Lake Clearwater, Arthurs Pass which included Otehake Hot Pools and
going through Cave Stream, and Carey’s Creek starting near the bottom of
the Kilmog.
A Trip Planning session for the next Programme was
held at the conclusion of the Trip Reports.