01/10/2025. Ross Creek Reservoir. Grade 3. Combined. Leaders: Yan Campbell, Graeme Souter, Jenni Wright, Wendy Langley.
Given the weather last Wednesday I think most of us were happier at the prospect of walking in the sheltered tracks of Ross Creek than the exposed paths at Victory Beach. With snow on the hills above, it was a chilly morning when 29 of us set off on Malvern/Duke Street towards the bridge over the Water of the Leith. We turned left on Woodhaugh Street and continued until we reached the track which leads to the Ross Creek Reservoir. The track crosses Ross Creek and then follows it, steadily climbing towards the reservoir.
On the scree slope just beneath the reservoir star sculptures have been placed to represent the Matariki constellation.
We followed the spillway and then looped back on the other side of the reservoir. I nearly missed the sunny spot between the lakes that Pam Cocks and I had planned for our morning tea. Thankfully, Pam soon stopped me, and we didn’t have to backtrack too far.
After our warming break we continued on to the School Track which leads all the way to Cannington Road near the Otago Golf Club and John McGlashan School.
After a short walk on the road we headed back onto the track to the waterfall, which was flowing well due to the recent rain.
The track beyond it is closed at the moment so we had to backtrack to the road and took the Podocarp Track back to the School Track which led us back to the base of the reservoir and then on to the same track we’d used to reach the reservoir. From there we headed back to Woodhaugh Gardens for lunch.
It was sunny when we arrived but the clouds were gathering as we left. We had walked 8 kms along very accessible, well maintained and well used tracks surrounded by the unique native New Zealand bush. The birds must also be quite used to people as we could hear Bell Birds.
Yan and team leaders.
Some additional information I found interesting to include.
Ross Creek Reservoir, finished in 1867, is apparently the oldest large dam still in use in New Zealand.
Originally called the Royal Albert Reservoir, it became known as Ross Creek, named after Archibald Hilson Ross. He was an optician and Dunedin’s unofficial meteorologist. He was later Mayor of Dunedin and ultimately an MP for the area. Initially built and run by a private company, it was taken over by the DCC a few years later. The water was used until the 1990’s and the reservoir still remains as a backup in case an earthquake interrupts the main water supply to Dunedin.
“Early photos of the reservoir show the surrounding slopes as cleared. Therefore, the current native bush is comparatively recent second growth, with a few scattered remnant podocarps.” – Dunedin Tracks and Trails by Anthony Hamel.
A podocarp forest is a type of forest, predominantly found in New Zealand, characterized by a mix of tall, evergreen podocarp trees (native conifers) and various smaller, broadleaf trees, shrubs, ferns, and epiphytes.
Link to background information and earlier tramps and hikes in the same area.