Whale Fossil Lookout, Clarendon Cemetery/Lime Springs

28/01/2026. Whale Fossil Lookout, Clarendon Cemetery/Lime Springs . Grade 3. Hikers. Leaders: Bruce Spittle, Eleanore Ryan.
Six km South of Waihola, just past the brick Ewing Phosphate Company Ltd building on the right, we turned right into Phosphate Road, and the end of the road, turned right into Berwick Road and then left into Cullen Road where we parked on the left at the foot of the hill.Twenty-five hikers climbed the style, newly erected by dairy farmer Joerg, on Berwick Road, opposite Cullen Road, and ascended the mound, past several electric fences, to the cemetery at the top for morning tea.

Rabbit proof fencing and a sodium fluoroacetate (1080) warning sign showed that a serious attempt was being made to contain the rabbit population.

Both Eleanore and Bruce had ties to the Yorston family represented by two headstones.

After morning tea we climbed to Rapid Number 162 on Cullen Road, and entered the farm of Sandra and Murray Cullen by the gate to the left of the sheds.

We gradually climbed up the hill to reach an opening in the fence below the pylons and turned right onto the four wheel drive track through the pine trees. We followed the track to two water tanks and then below the two antenna on Fort Hill, 292 m, and then down the track to the Whale Fossil Lookout for lunch.

We looked at a photo of Eleanore’s father in the photo gallery. After checking with Greg Manson at Milburn Lime that the coast was clear, we proceeded after lunch to Rapid No 161 on McNeil Road and followed a farm tree to the pine trees on the ridge.

After negotiating our way around a windblown tree we crossed a strip of land above the limestone quarry cleared of overburden and watched a loader fill a dump truck with limestone at the quarry.

We then turned left on McNeil Road and then right to enter a farm track on the Lime Springs Farm of Mark and Kelli Divers. We descended on the track past the five antenna of the hill to the right and then turned off the track on the left to a grass track to reach the old phosphate quarry, now the site of a firewood operation.

We then went down the farm road to the historic stables and then back along Driver Road and Berwick Road to the cars which we reached about 4 pm.

The weather for the day was mild and fine and the distance covered about 11.5 km with about 375 m of ascent. Although the grading was given as 3, some found the hills to be a bit challenging and thought 3.5 might have been more accurate. My thanks the landowners and Milburn Lime for permission to cross their properties, to Eleanore for her excellent leadership and to all who came on the hike.
Bruce Spittle

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Link to background information and earlier tramps and hikes in the same area.