Taieri Recreational Tramping Club
Mid-week recreational and social walking group based in Mosgiel NZ
24/07/2024. Millennium Track return, Henley Start. Trampers. Grade 4 Leaders: Gwenda Farqharson. & Alison K.
Millennium – a strange name for a track? By definition. A period of one thousand years, especially one which begins and ends in “000”. Continue reading “Millennium Track Return (from Henley)”
2. 15 May 2024. Trampers. Mountain Road/ South Waikouaiti River. Grade 4. Leaders: Graham Thurlow and John Gardiner
Sometimes my grandmother would say something to me, and I’d ask,
“How do you know that?”
She used to say,
“A wee birdie told me.”
This report is a ‘wee birdie’ (a Fantail) told me tale: –
Waihola Area – Information and Trips Library Post
2. 2 August 2023. Combined. Waihola Hill and Lawlor Farm M Leaders: Anne, Lynne, Jenni and Barbara
The weather didn’t look too bad at seven in the morning so the decision was made for the tramp to go ahead. Some of the Hikers and Trampers at Peter Johnson Park decided to give the tramp a swerve and go swimming at Te Puna instead of going out in the winter elements.
Sixteen very brave Hikers and Trampers arrived at Baker Road, Waihola to walk around Brendan Lawlor’s property. Brendan has developed a 28 section subdivision after he purchased the farm in 2005. Most of the sections apart from two now have been built on. Brendan has made a track around the lake for people to enjoy the views and birdlife.
After we arrived the weather was changing for the worse, so we decided to head to the implement shed to have morning tea.
Once there was a break in the weather we reluctantly left the shelter and headed up the hill to walk the track. We all had our wet weather gear on and at times hard to tell who was actually walking beside you. Walking around the lake was so different from the last time. When we had a blue sky day and the lake was like a millpond.
There has been a huge planting project around the front of the lake with lots of native trees and grasses all with protective covers to deter rabbits pigs and possums.
The track in some places was very slippery and muddy due to pig rooting and also a very wet July/August.
We saw moments of blue sky but down to the south the sky was black and at times we had strong winds and driving rain.
Halfway around the circuit we all gathered together and took shelter in the farm building then made a dash for the vehicles. A decision was made to have our lunch at the Baker Road farm buildings then head home with no walk on the new Clutha Gold Trail or a coffee at the Black Swan café
Distance 6.48km
1. 2 March 2022. Combined. Waihola Hill and Lawlor Farm. M Leaders: Jill Reid, Chris Wither Jenni & Bruce Wright
A fine morning saw 43 hikers and trampers make their way to the Lawlor property behind Lake Waihola. After regrouping at Waihola, and about 33km from the Mosgiel carpark, we turned right into Lake Road, left into Young Road, right into Berwick Road and right into Baker Road to park at the cattle yards there.
Brendan Lawlor welcomed everyone and described the mechanics of developing the 28-section subdivision since they purchased the farm in 2005. There is also an 1880s restored cottage on the farm.
Trampers and hikers set off together about 9:45 and made their way up the road and across a paddock to join a track, mown by Brendan, on the lake side of the fence in front of the subdivision. There was little wind and the lake views were gorgeous.
About 10:30 we stopped for morning tea together along the track.
25 trampers headed away first. A comment was made that the trampers left the morning tea stop true to form. “They were off like a bride’s nightie”.
Both groups, at their different speeds, enjoyed views towards the wetlands before turning inland to make their way through the farm and back along the road past the old cottage and new homes to the cars.
18 hikers enjoyed their lunch by a barn on the way and arrived back at the cars about 2:00 having covered around 8km.
The trampers enjoyed their lunch by the cars before making their way up Waihola Hill at 1:00. Their route first took them up a gully [opposite the Waihola Wildlife Management Reserve sign] near the start of Baker Road. They were then able to follow a 4WD track that wound around the hill.
When the trig on top of Waihola Hill came into sight the group turned uphill to appreciate the 360-degree views from there.
Then it was back to continue following the 4WD track to water tanks and back down the hill to return to the cars by 2:30.
The Trampers covered about 13km.
Thank you for the many great photos that were submitted to go with this report.
Chris
1. Halo Project Planting Combined Leader: Jill
Wednesday proved to be warm balmy day, when 35 eager TRTC members met at Long Beach to give a few hours volunteering on DOC reclaimed land behind the sand dunes .
We were met by the project manager, Jeanne, who was very well organized with equipment ready for us to start after morning tea.
The work involved was digging holes, planting natives and flaxes and making protective heavy cardboard collar’s to go around the newly planted specimens.
When the project is completed there will be about 38000 plantings (we did approx 800). Since starting last year, the success rate is 85-90ish%.
There were a couple of other small groups volunteering like a team building exercise.
Lunch was on the beach but, unbeknown to us, a young sealion appeared from the dunes behind ready to share time with some of the group. This really did give them one big fright, so our lunchtime was shortened.
We did continue down the beach a little further before heading back to the cars.
Some of us went to a quirky little cafe Santosha in Port Chalmers.
I think we all enjoyed the experience and especially being able to help with a community project. Perhaps another time.
Thanks to John for his help and support.
Link to background information and earlier track clearing and planting activities
1. 24 May 2023. Bayfield carpark to Glenfalloch. Grade 1. Hikers. Leaders: Linda Partridge and Helen Ingram.
A convoy of cars from Mosgiel parked in the Bayfield carpark at 9.45 joining Brighton and Dunedin people. Twenty-five hikers in total readied themselves for a walk along the cycle track along Portobello Road to Glenfalloch. It was a still bright morning, the harbour sparkling in the sunlight. We walked along the side of the inlet and stopped at Vauxhall Yacht Club for morning tea.
Then on to Glenfalloch which we reached just before noon.
The gardens look beautiful every season, and that day in autumn the maples were flaming red, and a long bank of fuchsias in purple and shocking pink terraced one of the hillsides. We had a leisurely lunch and Linda had prepared a questionnaire for us to take round the gardens to help us explore the grounds.
How many spoons in the sculpture near the restaurant? Where will you find the sundial? It really brought out the competitive nature in us! But everyone’s a winner, and a bag of Cadbury Favourites was handed round.
The Portobello bus was due at 2.15pm, and most of the hikers decided to walk on to Macandrew Bay to catch the bus there.
Brandishing BeeLine Cards we filled the bus and were dropped off close to the cars.
We finished the day with a hot drink at Nicols Garden Centre. Thanks to Linda and Helen for a very enjoyable day.
18. 30/11/2022. Trampers. Post Office Creek track from the Waipori Village side. Grade 3. $14. 60km. Leaders: Barbara and Leah.
The walking track is off Patearoa Road which itself is off Moonlight Road and we parked at the junction of the two. The permit was left visible through the windscreen.
A quick morning tea, and the party set off on the 1km down-hill (remember what goes down at the beginning of the day must go up at the end!!) to the rustic signpost indicating Post Office Creek track. There was a brief delay while one driver (nameless) went back and spent a frenetic 5 minutes searching for car keys in order to lock the vehicle. Having found the keys in the backpack, they were left on the ground while the pack was rezipped. The person (also nameless) who had ferreted them away while the rezipping was underway should be afraid; very afraid! A brief detour a few minutes down the track proper took us to the now dilapidated fishing huts.
A scramble back up the track and we were crossing the first of the creeks and negotiating the rock bivvy.
The entire track follows the contour of the slope with very little up or down. Many of the guts had bridges in varying degrees of disrepair but which, it’s understood, are likely to be removed entirely in the near future, after the maintenance work in the forestry has been completed. The tracks will be realigned to navigate the guts minus bridges.
Pigs had been digging up the track which left it nice and soft underfoot and there were a few fallen branches we cleared as we went.
We left the canopy cover of the trees as we neared the re-sited Waipori School buildings where we sat and had our lunch. Half the group elected to follow Jill to the actual Post Office Creek while the remainder sat and chatted, walked down to the lake edge and poked around the buildings.
Disappointingly there was no fishing or poetry recitation.
On the return of the wanderers, we set out again, retracing our steps, looking out for litter to take back to our vehicles. The last uphill kilometer was unwelcome but all 14 made it. A change of footwear, a little shenanigans with someone’s pack and sticks, and we headed back to the locked gate, this time heading to the right, over the Lake Mahinerangi causeway, through the fishing village and back to the Middlemarch Road at Lee Stream, enjoying a commentary from Jill who, for several decades, had farmed the property on both sides of the road.
One carload stopped for an icecream at Outram ($2 for 2 scoops being excellent value!), but weren’t joined by the other two, who must have thought 4.30pm too late for such extravagance!
An enjoyable day on an easy track which could well be considered for a combined day.
It would be possible to leave a 4WD vehicle at the bottom of the hill, at the signpost for the track, as we did on the recce, shortening the distance by 2 km.
Barbara
17. 2/6/2021. Combined trampers and hikers. Leader: Jill
A combined group of 42 people met at Andrew Reid’s hay barn on Mahinerangi Road and soon set off down the steep hill past the cattle yards. It was nice to have several visitors out today, as the weather gods were truly kind, and the ground underfoot was firm.
We all enjoyed walking through the rolling country and down to Lake Mahinerangi, initially opposite the old Waipori school building.
The lake was very low but still picturesque. We followed a gold miners water race to a now empty dam. One can only marvel at how adaptable and hardy those early gold miners were to seek their fortunes in this remote area!
The trampers then went up through the farm, intending to walk several kilometres more than the hikers, but I am not sure there was much between us in the end!
Trampers had lunch beside a tree lane with good expansive views and the Mahinerangi wind turbines were turning in the distance.
Back down to the farm lane that we followed to THAT hill and our cars.
Distance covered was about 12.5 km. Jill
After parting ways with trampers 14 hikers led by Chrissy (thank goodness) climbed up a fairly steep hill where we had a short lunch with the promise of another break at the top of the next paddock! Well, we somehow went through a wrong gate so instead of doing a loop we did a loop and a half to get back on track. We were all in good spirits until we saw the road we had to go back up to get to the cars.
But it was onwards and upwards at our own paces and, getting overtaken by the trampers, we made it back. This was a hard walk for us, but our senior members were so impressive. Well done team. PS. we never did get that promised break?
All up it was a solid 12 kilometres. Thanks Chrissy. Jenny & Jan Y.
16. 15/8/2018. Trampers. Verterburn Station. Leader: Jill.
11 trampers enjoyed a beautiful day on Andrew Reid’s property. We parked at the woolshed and headed downhill before walking along a water race created by gold miners, to a now empty dam.
We marvelled at how this race had been dug into the hillsides – and can barely imagine the living conditions of the early miners, one must certainly hope their toiling brought rewards!! There were a few fences to climb
but we were rewarded with nice views over Post Office Creek and then Lake Mahinerangi.
We then walked away from the lake, across a dam, and through paddocks up to the farm boundary with DCC forestry. Lunch was eaten in the shelter of the trees.
Then a few more ups and downs but we basically walked through the paddocks beside Mahinerangi Road back to our cars.
A most enjoyable day.
Distance walked 15.5 km. – Jill.
15. 17/1/2018. Trampers. Post Office Creek. Leader: Jill.
… we backtracked about 1 km and shortly after went up a very steep stock lane …
… and lunched by the trig there, enjoying expansive views of the area.
We continued up the farm track towards the back of the Maungatuas – the intention had been to look over to Waihola, but it was decided that was a bit far on this occasion! It was an easy return down hill to the bridge over Post Office creek – and to our cars.
An 18.5 km tramp enjoyed by all. – Jill.
14. 7/5/2014. Both. Reid homestead, Verter Burn to Post Office Creek and old school buildings. Leaders: Ken and Peter.
21 of us parked in the Reid’s homestead backyard and made our way through one or two fences down to a bridge over the Verter Burn (near ‘1’ on the map) for morning tea.
We followed a road on the stream’s true left, which begs the question as to where originated the pond with its beautiful reflection on our left. (About ‘2’ on map.)
Between 3 and 4 on the map, is where we approached the Verter Burn ford, into which we were to plunge later, but at this stage we swung off to our left to make our way through early gold-sluiced cliffs (8/4 on map) to finally cross the Post Office Creek and arrive at (5) the former Waipori School building (as reported to the writer) of the one-time but now submerged Waipori Township.
We climbed the steep hill alongside the Post Office Creek’s true left to skirt on our right a forestry of densely branched trees (larches? [and unpruned!] with a scattering of eucalypt among them) for a lunch where the forestry road levelled out at the top (6).
Then it was back down to the school building and out to the aforementioned ford, which this time we crossed with variously successful attempts in keeping feet dry, (but mostly wet).
Beyond that, was the further challenge of the BIG CLIMB, of un-fond older members’ memory. A taranaki gate at its top was new to us, but Neil successfully unscrambled its complexity. Three more paddocks and gates took us out to the Mahinerangi Road ( 11) and along it to the homestead (12.1) again.
At Outram, the majority of the (now well-established) coffee club socialised at the Wobbly Goat, …
although some betook themselves to the No 8 w Herbs cafe across the road. And that’s it. – Ian.
13. 28/11/2007. Trampers. Post Office Creek, fishermen huts return. Skyline track was closed on the day. Working on roads, trees. Easy. Leaders: Bill & Pat.
The long hill climb back out of the Verter Burn gets no easier with age, but all agreed it was another good day out. – Ian
12. 8/11/2006. Trampers. Post Office Creek. Medium. Leaders: Ian, Doug M
11. 18/5/2005. Both. Post Office Creek. Leaders: Doug J, Bill M, Joyce S, Lesley G
10. 29/10/2003 Forestry roads return. Leaders:
9. 25/4/2002 Leaders: Joyce S Shirley, Wendy B
The photos for this post were taken in the week to noon Thursday 26th August.
Club members have been out and about walking and on their bikes in lots of beautiful places in their local areas. We have been so lucky to have good weather. Many have also achieved great things working and relaxing in their gardens and around home.
Our sympathies go to Ady for her flood.
Thank you Jenni for offering a mask to anyone in need.
Enjoy the following photos. Chris Wither
Pictured here is me going with the flow just like the Silverstream and the Taieri river. This current picture shows the confluence. I biked along the bank – and banked on my bike to get me home which it did. kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk ie 21kms Photo and caption Neil Hodgkin
Above On the Harbour Cone recce and on a morning’s bike ride. Morning tea time underneath a lovely flowering wattle and cruising past the now famous wall! Below My water feature finally completed during the lovely lock-down spring weather, another long-term project! Photos and captions Marijke
As usual a beautiful frost free day in Port. and Morning ramble around Back Beach. Photos and captions Michael
Phil relaxing and Helen in her happy place. Photo and caption Phil
Loving my new push bike . Was going down the Karatai track but was warned about an irate farmer so went back up again.
Biking and walking in my neighbourhood Photos and captions Pam Cocks
Hi Team, Photos from Friends Hill Road on Sunday Photos and message Shona
