Sep 30 2023

Deep Creek Weir from Old Dunstan Road past Rocklands

No. 2 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Deep Stream [Stream crossed out and replaced by Creek] (Rocklands). R Lippers. Cattle.”
No. 56 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Deep Creek from Old Dunstan Road. (Rocklands. Year Round”
Est, 50 km from car park.
See Deep Creek Water Scheme Pipeline history.
See further background information behind Deep Stream project

19. Welsh’s Road, Old Farm, Deep Stream Weir. Grade 3 Leaders: Lyn and Di

13 of us set off for the Pipeline, which is just off the old Dunstan trail on Rocklands Station.

We had morning tea under the pine trees where we parked the vehicles. It was a tad cold but we soon warmed up with the walk over the farmland to the pipeline.

Up and up over farmland. Caption and photo Pam

Up and up over farmland. Caption and photo Pam

The countryside is getting more rugged Caption and photo Marjke

The countryside is getting more rugged Caption and photo Marijke

Tramping nirvana, easy level dry track, marvelous views Caption and photo John

Tramping nirvana, easy level dry track, marvellous views Caption and photo John

It was stunning scenery walking to the Weir and back.

Happy Trampers. Caption and photo John

Happy Trampers. Caption and photo John

Pump house and Weir. Caption and photo Pam

Pump house and Weir. Caption and photo Pam

Exploring the engineering feat, the Deep Stream Weir. Caption and photo John

Exploring the engineering feat, the Deep Stream Weir. Caption and photo John

Can you spot the hut Caption and photo Marijke

Can you spot the hut? Caption and photo Marijke

We had lunch in the sun out of the gorge with more room to spread out.

Refuelling. (Pipeline track to the weir in the background). Caption and photo Pam

Refuelling. (Pipeline track to the weir in the background). Caption and photo Pam

Then took the road back to the cars. It was 8.84ks according to my phone.

Some finished the day with a cuppa at the Wobbly Goat. Another great day out.


18. 17/08/2022 Trampers. Deep Creek Pipeline. 3.5 $10. Barbara Shackell & Judy Dennison

On a foggy old Wednesday morning, with the leader’s phone app threatening rain, 26 trampers met at the rugby grounds, sorted themselves into what appropriate vehicles were available and headed off at 9.30am sharp. A rearrangement of seating occurred when a couple of vehicles joined us at Outram, then again at Clark’s Junction with the addition of Heather’s vehicle, waiting for us at the turn off to Old Dunstan Road (ODR). We regrouped at Rocklands Station gateway, at which point the ODR was locked, and travelled in convoy through the farmyard, between buildings, up the hill and back onto ODR. Some 5km further along, two cars were left at the gateway to the Te Papanui Conservation Park, passengers rearranged again, with a couple of them heading off on foot to our final parking destination two kms further on. Morning tea was had in the shelter of a line of pines (although there was nothing to shelter from!) while a vehicle returned to collect the two pedestrians.

About to leave the cars John

About to leave the cars (photo & caption John)

After morning tea the group set off for a couple of km on a comfortable uphill farm road, without stringing out too much at all. Good work Judy (tail-end Charlie!).

Nearly at the top Phil

Nearly at the top (photo & caption Phil)

Entering the gate to the paddock containing the Deep Creek Gorge we followed a 4WD track to arrive at the pump station a little before noon. From there we picked up the pipeline track and followed it a few hundred metres around to a sunny spot which us allowed a view down into the gorge for a leisurely lunch.

Lunch in the sun John

Lunch in the sun (photo & caption John)

After lunch we crossed the first of a handful of boggy patches and continued along the pipeline track to the weir.

Overhanging walkway section John

Overhanging walkway section (photo & caption John)

What a difference a week makes – the recce had us walking along snow covered tracks, observing animal tracks in the pristine snow, dodging icicles clinging to overhanging rock, frozen bogs, while the club tramp had virtually no snow visible, the bogs were boggy, but plants – some showing colour – were visible through the rocky cracks and crevices. The weir had a considerably greater flow of water than earlier in the week, presumably from the snow melt.

Pump house and weir Pam

Pump house and weir (photo & caption Pam)

Some took advantage of the ladders to gain an elevated view of the weir.

Looking down from the top Weir platform John

Looking down from the top Weir platform (photo & caption John)

From that vantage point the pipe lineman’s hut was also visible and some members on the return walk, climbed up for a looksee at a very dilapidated “shelter”. While the hut is invisible from the track, its position is fortuitously marked by a final telegraph pole.

Spot the Hidden hut from the pump house Marijke

Spot the Hidden Lineman’s Hut from the Weir (photo & caption Marijke)

The return along the pipeline track provided a different perspective of the gorge and it didn’t take long to reach the place we’d had lunch and rather than follow the track the last couple of hundred metres around to the pump house, we took a shortcut, heading uphill, following no track, just the knowledge that we would reach the 4WD track over the brow, where we paused briefly.

Deep Creek View Helen

Deep Creek View (photo & caption Helen)

A show of hands as we rested indicated that exactly half our number had never been into the gorge previously.
The farm road downhill to the vehicles was covered quickly. We agreed to meet at the Wobbly Goat for coffee, but in the event it was closing as we arrived, and we continued onto Wal’s.

Coffee at Wal's Barbara

Coffee at Wal’s (photo & caption Barbara)

My fears regarding the weather we would strike were unwarranted. Through the fog we were teased with a brief sighting of blue sky nearing Outram in the morning, but then re-entered the ground fog as we climbed up SH87. This cleared completely before Lee Stream and we had perfect weather for the rest of the day – intermittent sun, no wind or rain! A quick read of previous reports on this particular track leads the writer to believe we might have been lucky not to have suffered a debilitatingly cold wind!

How it was on the Recce Barbara

How it was on the Recce (photo & caption Barbara)

Thanks to Rocklands station for permissions; to the drivers of vehicles able to manage the farm tracks, to those who met us away from the Rugby carpark for their punctuality, and everyone for the positive feedback on the day. I think it may be repeated!
Barbara

17. 18/03/2020 Hikers. Deep Creek Pipeline. M. Bob Mitchell and Mike Webb

28 Hikers set off in 8 cars from the car park in Mosgiel to rendezvous at the Clarks Junction pub before driving to the start of the walk. More than a few of the ladies eyes lit up when Bob announced that we would be having refreshments at the pub at the conclusion of the hike. It was good to see that it is not only us blokes that take drinking seriously.
After meeting in the pub car park we proceeded in convoy up the Old Dunstan Rd and found a suitable spot to park the cars away from any cattle that wanted to use them as back scratchers.
Te papanuiressss

Photo and Caption Clive – “Te Papanui”

We started the walk at about 1000 and had morning smoko at the one of the gates/cattle stops.
Morning teares

Photo and Caption Clive – “Morning tea.”

Pump house at Deek Creek

Photo and Caption Clive – “Pump house at Deep Creek.”

From there it was a steady climb to some maintenance huts at the top of the gorge. The distance from the cars to the huts was 3km
DSC03970res

Photo and Caption John – “Vast open country.”

.The weather was fine with great visibility and from the huts we could see the pipeline snaking its way around the gorge.

Into the gorgeres

Photo and Caption Clive – “Into the gorge”

Deep Stream a long way down (1)

Photo and Caption Clive – “Deep Stream a long way down”

From the huts it was a steady climb down to find the track that leads to the pipeline. The track is approximately 2kms in length, and quite narrow in some places with railed walkways over some of the more challenging parts of the track. The views were quite spectacular and we were soon strung out in single file looking like porters on the Ho Chi Minh trail. Frequent photo stops were the order of the day.

We could hear a bit of bird song and one falcon and one hawk were observed flapping/souring overhead during the walk. One point of interest was on old hut set in the bush about 10m above and to the side of the pipeline not far from the tracks end. Probably accommodation for the guys laying the pipeline all those years ago.
20200318_114608

Photo and Caption Clive – “Walking to dam along the river.”

After a brief halt and photo stop at the dam/weir at the end of the track we did an about turn, retraced our steps and eventually stopped for lunch in a nice sunny spot overlooking the gorge.
Pump house and damres

Photo and Caption Clive – “Pump house and dam”

 

back down the gorge (1)res

Photo and Caption Clive _ “Back down the gorge.”

 

DSC03972res

Photo and Caption John – “Lunchtime always with a view.”

From there it was a short walk up to the huts and back down to the cars.

Back at the carsres

Photo and Caption Clive – “Back at the cars.”

We walked a total of 10km.
Bob had organised the publican at the Clarks Junction pub to lay on coffee, cakes and scones and also to open the bar early for those that wanted to support Speights. Glad to report that at least two unnamed ladies were seen with pints in their hands. Legends!
The rest obviously enjoyed the coffee and food as the shark like feeding frenzy at the counter was a sight to behold.
A good day was had by all and I can vouch that the Speights was up to its usual standard.
Mike

 

16. 9/1/2019. Deep Creek Gorge Pipeline. Leaders: Theresa and Clive.

Route map, Deep Creek railed walkway and weir, courtesy Ian.

31 Trampers, Hikers and Ramblers set out across the tussock of Te Papanui Conservation Park. It was an ideal day for a walk on the tops as there was high cloud keeping what can be a scorching sun off our backs. The 16 degree temperature was just right to get things started after the Christmas/New Year break. 13 of the participants had not been on the walk before and were looking forward to the gorge.
Morning tea

(Clive pic.)

found us being observed by a large herd of cows who seemed very interested in what we were all doing there.
After a twenty minute break we headed on up hill

(Clive pic.)

to the hut at the mouth of the gorge. Having made sure everyone was accounted for it was across the 40 ? or 41 ? bridges and board walks to the weir at the top of Deep Creek.

(Kevin pic.)

(Clive pic.)

(Kevin pic.)

This gorge is a feature that makes this walk so interesting. As an aside, the DoC blurb advises that there are over 500 species of native insects; plus a wide variety of plants and animals (including pigs and red deer), in the Te Papanui park.
Lunch was taken back at the mouth of the gorge, sheltering from the cool breeze that had sprung up. After lunch the Trampers headed off in a more Easterly directing to add a bit more distance to the completed walk. The hikers and ramblers headed back the way we had come in the morning. The hikers covered about 9.5 kms by the end of the day and were happy to sit down for afternoon tea at the Wobbly Goat about half an hour ahead of the more exercised Trampers group. The consensus was a ‘gorge’-ous days outing! – Clive

15. 26/4/2017. Deep Creek Gorge Pipeline . Leaders: Theresa and Arthur.

Nike app route map, courtesy Ian.

Leave the car park and go up SHWY 87 until Clarks Junction. Turn left onto Rocklands Road. Travel on excellent tar seal until you pass the Rocklands Station complex. Now you will be on gravel and at the beginning of the Old Dunstan Trail. Turn left off the Old Dunstan Trail and proceed on farm track for 2 kms. Park cars at the trees. Cross over farm land for a period of time — only down and up one gully,

Morning tea in gully, sheltered from a breeze. (Clive pic.)

going in a west / north direction towards the gorge. A gate in the middle of a paddock with a faint track going in the right direction. Two  small newish huts with a solar powered panel on roof mark the beginning of the Gorge  track. This is part of the Te Papanui Reserve. Traverse  pipe line for approx 1/12- 2 kms.

New section at start,  replacing broken single wooden planking. (Keith pic.)

The pipe line is suspended  off the cliff high above the Gorge .The track is narrow  on the pipe line …

(Clive pic.)

… but is easy and in the main flat. There are many foot bridges to cross. (An in-house challenge to count the number, caused differing results/) One  dedicated tramper even ticked them off on a piece of paper .WHO  are we to disagree!! A small dam was at the head of a very picturesque Deep Creek Gorge.

(Keith pic.)

(Keith pic.)

Repeat the trip back to the road just beyond the huts. From then it is an easy road tramp back to the cars. 12 very happy trampers enjoyed a WOW 😳 kind of a day out. Approx 10 kms  in length. Debrief and coffee at Outram. -Theresa.

14. 9/4/2014. Trampers. Deep Creek. (A replacekment for ‘The Gap’, programmed for the day, which would have turned out extremely muddle.)
 The first thing we struck was hundreds of sheep by the trees where the cars normally park.
so we parked just before that spot and skirted the trees on the other side so as not to disturb the sheep.  We left morning tea till we got to the old hut …
Morning tea in the sun (Heb pic and caption)

Morning tea in the sun (Heb pic and caption)

… sitting on some concrete pipes there. From there we followed the track taking us onto the pipeline …
Looking upstream toward the weir (Heb pic and caption)

Looking upstream toward the weir (Heb pic and caption)

… right up to the weir.
Ria and Eric at the Deep Stream Weir (Heb pic and caption)

Ria and Eric at the Deep Stream Weir (Heb pic and caption)

About halfway back we enjoyed lunch in the sun sheltered in a gully with no wind. It was great. From the hut on the way out, we followed  white pegs indicating the pipeline which helped us avoid getting our feet wet in a muddy creek. Then it was back to the cars. A great day for tramping. – Heb.
13. 31/8/2011. Trampers. Deep Creek.

GPS

Five of us battled a strong wind on the tops, really icy and straight from the antarctic, to a late cuppa at the cave part way up the road from where we park the car. However the cave faced straight into the wind so we nestled behind it in the shelter of its lee.

The cave, with light chinks in the ‘bricked up’ rear.

Wrapped up in wind-breakers, gloves and woollen hats we struggled onward and upward to at last the crest of the slope and escape down into the shelter of Deep Creek’s gully and onto the walkway.

Looking downstream at start. (Ken pic and caption)

Ian, Linzi, Ria and Doug at start of creek track. (Ken pic and caption)

There was quite a lot of water in the creek. (Ken pic and caption)

Part of the track. (Ken pic and caption)

Doug, Ria, Linzi and Ian at the weir. (Ken pic and caption)

A large flow of water over the weir. (Ken in the background disappearing up the ladder.)

Creek above the weir. (Ken pic and caption)

Looking down on the weir from the control hut. (Ken pic and caption)

Looking back along the track from the control hut. (Ken pic and caption)

View of further downstream from the control hut. (Ken pic and caption)

On the way back out, we remained to lunch in the shelter of the gully before getting back out to expose ourselves to the wind again. We examined the old hut, little changed from last time, before making the return back to the car, this time thankfully with the wind behind us. – Ian.

12. 10/11/2010. Hikers. Deep Creek. Medium. Leaders: Evelyn C, Graham.

11. 12/3/2008 Hikers. Deep Creek. Medium. Leaders: Joyce S, Lesley G

The adventure for the 14 Hikers this week was a drive via Rocklands Station and the Dunstan Old Road, turning off to the Te Papanui Reserve. There was a cold S.W. wind that kept us in woolly hats for the day, even although we had sunshine as well. A walk up the hillside to a cave amongst the rocks was earmarked for coffee by Joyce S, our leader.
Then on to the gorge of Deep Creek, a tributary of Deep Stream, and the path following the pipe line to the weir.
A Deep Creek Gorge

Gorge in Deep Creek. Looking upstream at beginning of walkway.

Bob H told us about the water race used in the gold mining days and the pipeline to supplement the Dunedin City’s water supply, built in the 1930s. The farmland had been former tussock country but the gorge was not modified and still supported many alpine plants, including gentians in flower. We had several sightings of NZ Falcons, which are now considered to be diminishing in numbers. It was an exciting area to be hiking in,

as the river was a long way below us and the sides of the gorge very steep. Ian F was making mental notes for the retrieval of anyone who miscalculated their step, but fortunately the plan wasn’t needed. We were back at the cars by 2pm and home to Mosgiel 3pm. An exhilarating day. – Lesley G

10. 13/6/2007 Leaders: George, Abe

Snow at top

Snow at top

Lwr Crk

Deep Creek in lower reaches.

Grp

On pipeline. George, Leonie, Tash, Ria, Pat, Ian, Glenice, Arthur.

UprXCrk

Upper Deep Creek showing railed walkways.

9. 23/8/2006. Hikers. Deep Creek, Old Dunstan Road. Medium. Leaders: Val, Arthur & Barbara

8. 24/11/2004. Both. Deep Creek, Lammermoors. Leaders: Evelyn C, Ian, Peter and Wendy

Deep Creek Pipeline Track

Deep Creek Pipeline Track. Evelyn, Wendy, Peter.

Deep Creek Weir

Deep Creek Weir. Evelyn, Wendy, Peter

7. 17/4/2002. Alt. Rockland and Deep Creek. Medium. Leaders: Bob H, Bev H, Bev McI.

6. 21/10/1998. Deep Creek from Old Dunstan Trail. Leaders: George, Les S.

5. 24/3/1998. Deep Creek, Rocklands. Leaders: Shirley McN, Ria L, Bev H.

4. 15/10/1997.

3. 8/2/1995. Deep Creek from Old Dunstan Road. Easy. Leaders: Jack R, Bob H, Ted, Dot T.

2. 20/3/1991. Deep Creek Dam and Pipeline. Great viewing and interesting country. Easy+. Leaders: Dave and Jean, Margaret D, Janice.

1. 1/2/89. Deep Creek.

1/2/1989. “Pumping Station.” Deep Creek. (Ian pic, scanned from Peg Chisholm photo collection.)

Background.
The Deep Creek Water Scheme was built during the depression of the 30s.
The Pipeline is 58 years old and 64 km long.
The intake is 675m above sea level.
The catchment is 5420 hectares; mainly tussock with some grassland.
The steel pipeline, lined with bitumen, was in a bad state of repair by the 80s and the leaks were constantly plugged with tapered wooden plugs until it resembled a porcupine.
The authorities were eventually persuaded to renew the worst section, this being done with the aid of a helicopter in 1992. It is a useful supplement to Dunedin’s water supply.
The Pipeline is made of bitumen-lined steel excepting the first 1.4 km which was replaced in 1992 with concrete pipes.
Water quality is variable and often discoloured.
Over the 58 years the yield has dropped from 11,000 cubic metres to 6,800 cubic metres a day.
The water goes to Booth Road Treatment Station and Sullivans Dam.
Replacing the rest of the pipeline is estimated at $20,000,000 and would increase the flow to 17,000 cubic metres a day.
– From a hand-written record in the President’s file and supplemented with other data.

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One Response to “Deep Creek Weir from Old Dunstan Road past Rocklands”

  1. kiwison52  Sonia Hendersonon 22 Jul 2015 at 6:21 pm

    My Dad was the Whare Flat raceman who used to check this line back when we were kids. We loved going up the Deep Steam track . Thanks for the memories.

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