Mt Kyeburn and Little Kyeburn
Mt Kyeburn & Little Kyeburn Track – Sunday, 29th November 2020
Seven of us left the Medway Street car park at 7am and travelled through Dansey’s Pass with a brief stop at the Dansey’s Pass pub for a pit stop and some had coffee.
We arrived at the end of Little Kyeburn Road around 9:00 a.m. where we met Helen & Rodney, who had driven through the Pigroot from Dunedin. With everyone now in the two 4WD vehicles, we continued on along the 4.6km of Mount Buster Road to the DOC car park at the entrance to the Oteake Conservation Park, at an elevation of 460m.
Just after 9:30 a.m., we set off along the 4WD track heading northeast from the car park, walking the two kilometres to the junction of the Little Kyeburn Track and the track we would continue to follow up the southwest spur of Mt Kyeburn. We couldn’t actually see Mt Kyeburn at all, as the cloud was down to about 1200m, although there was hardly any wind to speak of, so we were soon well and truly warmed up.
After 45 minutes walking, we reached an altitude of 850m and had passed the first of several zigzags on the 4WD track leading up the spur. After an hour and a quarter, at an altitude of 1055m, we stopped for a rest break on one of the long straights of the track. After two hours, at a corner of the continually zigzagging track, we reached an altitude of 1245m and could now look across to the northwest to the Buster Diggings disused goldmining site. To the north we could also see the top of Kohurau (2009m), the highest point of the St Marys Range, with Benmore Peak (1894m) and Totara Peak (1822m) also being visible in the distant north-northwest.
Two and a half hours after setting out, we reached the end of the 4WD track at an altitude of 1365m. From this point, we headed cross country, initially following a fence line straight up the slope, before deviating around to the north up through tussocks for quarter of an hour to reach Point 1446 metres, just over a kilometre west of Mt Kyeburn. After regrouping, we soon reached the 4WD track circling the top of Mt Kyeburn, leaving a final steep ascent of 120 vertical metres to the top. Seven of us took the steeper, direct route, with two walking northeast along the track towards the junction with the Mt Kyeburn Track, where the slope to the top was a much reduced gradient. Unfortunately, the cloud had not really cleared, although we did have some views to the northwest, but the view to the southeast out to Danseys Pass was limited at best. By 1:15 p.m., all but one of the nine party members had made the final climb to the top, where we sat beneath the old trig beacon for a late lunch and a well earned rest.
After taking some group photos at the top at 1:45 p.m., we headed north down to the junction of the Mt Kyeburn Track and continued on past Point 1558, while taking in the view northeast towards the clouded St Marys Range peaks of Mt Domett (1942m), Little Domett (1860m) and Grayson Peak (1660m), with Cone (1563m) the only peak totally free of cloud. As the tracked turned and headed southwest towards Buster Hut and the Buster Diggings, Mt Ida (1690m) and the Ida Range had cleared of cloud, offering a clear view out to the Maniototo Plain beyond. We walked the remainder of Mt Kyeburn Track, reaching Buster Hut around 3:00 p.m., where we once again regrouped and had another rest break before commencing the descent down Little Kyeburn Track.
We were soon on our way down Little Kyeburn Track and commencing the steep descent down into the gorge of Little Kye Burn. Despite some overgrowth of scrub on parts of the track, the walk out through the gorge was uneventful and we were all back at the vehicles by 5:30 p.m., completing an 8-hour round trip of 20 kilometres. Despite blue skies above us by this time, Mt Kyeburn was still totally enveloped in cloud.
We drove back out to Little Kyeburn Road, dropping off Helen & Rodney at their car, at which point we all drove back through the Pigroot to Palmerston, where we parted company getting back to Oamaru about 7.30pm.
Thanks to Jane, Julia, Pip, Bess, John, Brian, Helen & Rodney for the good company.
Also thanks to Rodney for writing up this trip report. Neville
NZ Raptor Trust/Kakahu Bush
15th November 2020
The NZ Raptor Trust is located at Redruth St, Timaru and is housed in four shipping containers, with a green space behind. Ron provided a presentation of the background of the Trust and how it came to be. He then told us the story of Tom, a Harrier Hawk, who was rescued as an orphan along with his 2 siblings. His siblings were flying at 6 weeks old but Tom was slow to develop and didn’t start walking until 5 weeks old, sometimes using a concrete ledge to support himself with his wings. It was encouraging for those volunteers at the Trust to nurture Tom over the last 18 months and now see Tom a capable independent Hawk who will be released in the near future. Ron had Tom on a Creance line which was attached to his leg and with some food on our hand, he flew onto our arm. A lot of Raptors get injured by harvesters and vehicles. Also with Cole, who had been injured, he was now at a stage where he could creance. He will stay at the Trust as he had some neurological injuries, but he will provide advocacy for other raptors. There was also an Owl, “Grumpy” who we didn’t get to see. Learning about the Raptors behaviours was extremely interesting and the good work that Ron, Vaughan and the volunteers do is so inspiring. Vet Life in Timaru are heavily involved in the Raptors survival also. The NZ Raptor Trust is keen to show groups, particularly school groups, what they do. Check them out on http://nzraptor.org/ See our video on The New Zealand Raptor Trust on Facebook.
After a coffee, we arrived at Kakahu Bush in time for a quick lunch and then off on our walk. It was hot so being in the bush was pleasant. The first part of the walk was a track where they used to bring marble from the top down to the kiln. About thirty minutes later, we arrived at a TB Sanatorium site, a flat cleared area in the bush but there was no remains of any buildings. Apparently, fresh air was good for recovering from TB so respite institutions were built far from civilisation. Further up, we could hear a pig scuttle away into the bush, surprising as there were a number of people on this walk. We came to a clearing which we could see out towards Fairlie and also look down onto Kakahu Bush and take in the various prominent trees. Not long after, we walked up to the lookout and found Robbie looking out! A quick snack and a discussion on the type of rock and we were off downhill. We came to the Balancing Rock which is a huge menhir. Soon we were back to the vehicle and headed home.
Thanks for your company John and Robbie, Bess
Club Night 9 November 2020
Club members were interested in a proposal to build a new 6 bunk Hut in the Waianakarua Reserve, though being off any tramping routes, would be of limited use for the Club.
Trip Reports:
!2 members rode the A2O bike trail from Windsor to Duntroon and back on ebikes while 3 rode pedal power bikes from Cants road. All met at Duntroon for lunch.
6 trampers climbed the 1917m high Ohau Peak in a 12 hour day. They encountered gale force winds along the top, which made the necessary boulder hopping a bit of a challenge!
Wednesday Walkers had return trips along the Waiho Walkway to the Waiho Forks Hotel, Andersons Lagoon to the Shag River Mouth at low tide passing 7 sea lions basking on the beach. They enjoyed a new coastal walk south from Timaru to Jacks Point lighthouse, and a farm walk circuit near Taieri Peak with lunch beside the Waikouaiti River.
Coming trips are to Kakahu Bush, a night walk in the Herbert Forest, climbing Mount Kyeburn, and weekend trips to the Neuman range via the Dobson Valley, and the Mount Somers Track. There will be a Christmas pot-luck meal on the 14 December.
The evening then concentrated on planning trips for the summer.
Ohau Peak
1st November 2020
Three members left Oamaru at 7am and met up with Rodney, Helen and Bill at Kurow.
Following a quick coffee stop at the wee caravan in Otematata we duly arrived at the woolshed on Quailburn Road around 9am.
Setting off shortly after nine we began to climb straight away reaching the trig station 4089 within 40 minutes. From here, we headed northwest across to the fencing track leading straight up the slope towards Point 1873 metres at the southern end of the Ohau Range.
Following a good steady slog uphill we had lunch in the shelter of some rocks on the leeward side of Point 1873.
A shorter but just as demanding climb followed lunch until we reached the ridgeline. From this point the target was in sight but still some distance away. Due to a nice clear day we were surrounded with breath-taking vistas all around.
A short rest stop at Point 1909 occurred before the final stretch to Ohau Peak which was reached at 1.40pm. Another short rest to admire the view was taken at which time the predicted gale force winds decided to arrive. This made the journey back along the ridgeline quite demanding.
We opted to return to the vehicles via a different route and therefore once we had returned to point 1873 we angled down via a scree slope and across the creek to the track that connects the woolshed carpark to the East Ahuriri Valley. A short journey from there to the cars ensued where we met and happily discussed what was a very rewarding day.
Special Thanks to Rodney for collating all the data for this report.
Rodney, Helen, Ross F, Bill F, Ger and Julian
A2O Sections Bike Ride
Sunday 18 October 2020
Anyone for a bike ride ?
The answer is a definite yes, with 15 riders lining up for Sundays ride to Duntroon and return.
With the increased popularity of E bikes more rides are being included into the clubs programme to cater for this activity.
A lucky break in the recent mix of windy and cold weather gave us a Sunday of good riding conditions, not too hot and light winds.
With two starting points at Windsor Hall and the shelter on Cants Road giving options for the faster E bikes and all meeting at the Duntroon Hotel for lunch. The trail was quite busy with other cyclists traveling in both directions enjoying this local asset.
A leisurely lunch was enjoyed outside the Hotel in the sun, but all to soon it was time to work it off with the return journey into a light head wind, no problem for those E’s.
All 15 riders completed the journey without breakdown or incidents along the way, another enjoyable ride.
Thanks to, Bill, Bev, Jane, Graham, Bron, Maureen, Julia, Bob, Ross, Brian, Maria, Phyllis, Chris, Les, – Maurice.
