Awakino Flowers January 2013
Noel Pullan, Bronwyn McCone, and Hugh Wood had a trip up to Awakino on the 8th January to view the flowers. Bronwyn said they are blooming several weeks later than normal, and the daisys will probably be even better for the Te Kohurau trip on the 27th of January 2013.
Mt. David via Razor Ridge, Sunday 9th Dec 2012
After the Club Christmas Dinner on Saturday night, eight trampers arrived at the car park the next morning to go and walk off the great food consumed. The sun was shining and a nice day looked promising. We left Bayleys yards off the Danseys Pass road at 9.30am and set off across the paddocks to the Otekaieke River. There was a good flow with some colour from the snow melt, but the temperature was very comfortable. After several crossings we came to the first side stream, where we left the river below to ascended the initially steep beginning of Razor Ridge.
The views unfolded as we gained height with the familiar sight of the peaks we had climbed previously. Razor Ridge looks almost unclimbable in places from a distance, but as we got up close there always seemed to be a way through. Lunch in a sunny spot on the ridge was welcomed as the Christmas Dinner had worn off.
From here it was much easier going to Pt 1228, the highest point on the ridge, where a cairn had been built by Noel and myself four years ago housing a Waitaki River bed stone in memory off the late Ian Rodger. Unfortunately due to the weather, animals, or poor workmanship the cairn was destroyed. A rebuild took place, but sadly the river stone was lost. Ian was in our thoughts which is what matters.
We had some down hill at last, and after crossing a swampy area it was yet again all up hill to Mt David. With photos taken and more fuel on board, we enjoyed the flat walk back to the end of the ridge while taking in the whole of the Razor Back Ridge view.
It was then a scramble down the rocky ridge to the 4WD track leading back to the valley floor, and crossing the Otekaieke River one last time. A short paddock walk back to the cars ended another great trip.
Thanks to – Ross, Noel, Colin, Robbie, Phillipa, Stuart,and Phyllis for your company and supporting the N.O.T&M.C. Programme. Maurice.
Club Night, November 2012
The November meeting was attended by 34 members.
The Club is involved in assisting with local educational programmes. The latest session in Herbert Forest with Weston School pupils saw twenty-seven 8-9year olds, 5 Club members and 2 teachers on the Podocarp Track. Sessions on Mountain Safety, for Duke of Edinburgh Awards, have been conducted in local secondary schools.
Trip Reports: Silverpeaks was visited for a good round trip including the Tunnels Track, Rocky Ridge and Pulpit Rock. The Labour Weekend trip went to the top end of Lake Ohau, up to the South Temple and the Maitland doing track maintenance and marking and walking out in quite heavy snow. A group went up Tabletop to a point looking out to Staircase Ridge.
Wednesday Walkers climbed Mt. Studholme and were rewarded with a view to the Port Hills. A walk from Anderson’s Lagoon to the Shag River mouth and back provided a wormseye view of hundreds of Stewart Island shags nesting in rows along the rocky ridges of the limestone cliffs. Tabletop was climbed and a trip to Trotter’s Gorge and Trig L saw 25 admiring a great flowering of celmisias and clematis.
Wilding pines and sweet briar were dealt to in tussock land near Omarama by some Wednesday Walkers in a group organised by DOC.
The main feature of the evening was presented by Ross Milmine – an interesting talk with wonderful photography of a trip taken by him and his wife to Bolivia and Peru. It was challenging, with long flights, 4-5a.m. starts to see sunrises, cold weather, and much travel at high altitude, between 3,000-5,000m. (Mt. Cook is 3,746m.)
The first part of the journeying was to the Urumbaba River, a tributary of the Amazon. It involved river travel, staying in jungle lodge, mosquitoes, jungle views and varied wildlife- capybara, monkeys, macaws, tarantulas and Piranha.
The Inca trail up to Machu Picchu took the group of 16 up and down pathways and stone steps and over passes (Dead Woman’s Pass is 4,200m), camping at night with 17 local farmers acting as porters. The oldest man to walk the Inca Trail in modern times was an 82 year old New Zealander! We saw steep hillsides terraced by the Incas and potatoes and beans are still grown at high altitudes. Harvest is a time of colourful celebration. Condors with a wingspan of 2 metres were a sight to behold as was Manchu Picchu on its high, steep and isolated site, with green grass and the ruins of ingeniously constructed buildings and water systems.
After travel to Cusco, the group went down to Puno and Lake Titicaca, the biggest lake in South America at 400km. long and 50 -100km. wide, the highest in the world. They saw reed boats and visited the reed islands lived on and owned by communities with livestock and solar-powered TV.
La Paz, close by in Bolivia, has a population of 2 million. From there they visited the silver mine of Potasi with 15,000 miners now producing zinc, lead and tin, and Sucre where still visible dinosaur footprints were found. The great Salt Flats of Salar de Uyuni glistened and they drove across them to an island with 2000-year old cacti. A stay in a hotel constructed of salt blocks with salt furniture was novel, and salt-edged lakes had many flamingos.
The tour ended by going up to the High Altiplano volcanic area with minus 5 degree temperature but compensatory hot pools. From the Chilean border they could see Argentina.
In spite of challenges, the excellent photography showed a great diversity of relics and ruins, stunning natural scenery and wildlife which, along with colourful and friendly people, made it a trip to remember and gave us much to enjoy.
Waianakarua Reserve to Tabletop, Sunday 4th November 2012
Spring was certainly in the air this week with the wild swing in weather conditions from hot Norwesters to snow and frosts.
A phone call from John on Sat evening based at Ohau Village reported snow down to lake level. Any trip above the bushline would encounter soft deep snow, character building maybe but from previous experience to be avoided.
Sunday, the sun was out and a fine day was in store for nine people gathered at the town departure point. After a brief disussion a new plan for the day was agreed, to fall back to an old faithful area, the Wainak Reserve.
Leaving from Mt Misery Road we headed down to the river then down stream to the track leading to Table Top. This track is now quite overgrown in places but still negotiable. A small amount of bird life was present which is encouraging to hear and see. A smoko break was taken at the bush edge of Table Top, in the sun sheltered behind the kanuka scrub from the cool southerly.
A short walk across Table Top to the S W corner gave a good view of the location of Staircase Hut and the route to and from it along Staircase Ridge. Returning to the track we visited a hunters shelter before locating a nice spot in the sun for a long lunch break.
The return journey to the rivers Middle Branch was all down hill where the decision to try the old caravan trail back to the road and return to the cars was made. This track does not get much use and is quite steep initially and is becoming overgrown with gorse. A short walk back to the cars on the road completed a nice day out with fine company.
Thanks to: Jac, Gail, Phyllis, Linda, Evelyn, Noel Robbie, Jo, – Maurice.
