02/04/2025. Inch Clutha. Grade 2.5. Combined. Leaders: Phil Keene, Graeme Souter, Bruce & Jenny Wright.
“Well it may be a case of third time lucky that we finally made this trip, especially with the help of Graeme’s map. 43 members in 11 cars enjoyed the ‘sunday’ drive to Kaitangata where we met up at the local you know what, before travelling on in convoy up and over that impressive bridge onto the island and around to the pumping station where we all parked up.
Graeme led everyone to the morning tea spot on the Matau (fishhook) branch, while Phil positioned his car with Peter’s help at the far end in case of need later in the day.
Following morning tea at 11am we set off along the floodbank, officially a walkway to celebrate Clutha’s 150 th. The river was on the left, dotted with numerous whitebait stands and quirky, very quirky cribs, whilst the right was dominated by dairy farms with a good head of grass as far as the eye could see.
We headed across a causeway over what was the original channel of the Matau south to join the Koau (shag or cormorant) branch, then skirted the estuary, along past the most salubrious crib, to the north end of the beach and the outlet of the river into the sea.
The fall of the river from the estuary into the sea was steep, swift and a little ferocious; you would not want to dabble your feet into the water here.
From here we headed south, agreeing to meet up around 12.15pm for lunch. The beach is adorned with large tree trunks deposited willy nilly, a testament to the power of the tides and river. Surf was up, probably never down here.
The lighthouse at Nugget point could just be espied, depending on the sun’s reflection. Following lunch it was a short walk to the end of the beach, where the Koau branch entered the sea in a similar fashion to that of the Matau. The original channel south to Port Molyneux is clearly visible from this spot. We then shambled a little, up river, past the concentration of cribs which support a high number of whitebaiters on this branch in season. We took a group photo on the deck of the ‘Hotel Koau’.
From this point to complete the circle back to the cars, some walked the floodbank, then the road or some took up the offer of a ride. We all finished up back at the cars at 2pm, making for a walk of 3 and a quarter hours of elapsed time. Distance 8. 57 KM. Did we achieve an altitude gain and loss? Yes, 7m! Wow a record – Inch Clutha is soooo flat.
Finally all 43 stopped at the Kai Pub and enjoyed some quality time together, in what was a quality inn. Additional staff had been put on to assist, so well done ‘mine’ host.
Thanks to Graeme, Jenni, Bruce and Peter for your support along the way.
Phil”
Link to background information and earlier tramps and hikes in the same area.