Directions: Wairongoa Spring. Cross small concrete bridge, take 2nd gravel drive on right.
Walk around front of house and veer right up hill to gate and find track to spring.
10. 13/12/2023. All North Taieri Church Hall. Leaders: Barbara Shackell/Jenni Wright/Raewyn Keene.
The overnight rain cleared but a fresh wind stayed with us for the day. The venue at the North Taieri Church hall proved nice and comfy and just the right size to encourage plenty of chat, especially as it was decked out in the Xmas theme – Folk came and deposited fine finger food, 3 tables of main, two tables of sweets!! Very appetizing.
Ocean Grove, also known as Tomahawk, is a suburb in the southeast of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. … The suburb was known as Tomahawk until the 1930s, the name not being a reference to the weapon, but rather possibly an anglicised form of the Māori words tomo haka, meaning “dance by a gravesite”.
No. 23 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Karetai Rd via Monument from Lagoon. Year round.”
DCC List: 41 Peg Track. Otago Peninsula
Accessed from Oregon St. 3.5 hrs ret. Tramping track – unbenched. Managed: DCC CAM, private land. Description – This track provides a link between Ocean Grove and Highcliff Road. Access to the track in Ocean Grove is off Oregon Street. An attractive walk around Tomahawk Lagoon then climbs through gorse and native bush. Turn right towards Soldiers Memorial through paddocks with gorse sometimes obscuring the rock walls.
Information Rock and Pillar via Six Mile Creek This climbs 1,005 m. (3300 feet) up the eastern face from Glencreag Station up a leading ridge south of Six Mile Creek. This is the most direct approach. Rock and Pillar via spur south of Lug Creek. Information: Climbs 910 m. (3000 feet) up the eastern face of a well-graded vehicle track up a leading spur south of Lug Creek. Average time to Leaning Lodge is 3 hours on foot. DoC access. 9.5km north of the Middlemarch store on SH87, just before Lug Creek, is a farm entrance (RAPID 7219 – no DoC sign). A short way up the driveway is a DoC car park. There is public access up the vehicle track to the conservation area boundary. The track is now a recreation reserve administered by DoC.
Easiest route to Big Hut from Leaning Lodge (foot only – unmarked – good visibility essential) is another 45+ minutes climbing gently southwards to cross a steep gully and then climb a gentle shelf to above the eastern basins. Sidle several hundred metres past the lower prominent rock tors before gently descending to Big Hut once it becomes visible. Route very wind and cloud-prone. Ice axe and crampons may be necessary to traverse steep snow slopes near Leaning Lodge.
64 km to Middlemarch. 66 km to Stonehurst Track.
Redan Crater- contact for access Ken Rennick.
No. 96 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Parera Taioma Transrail & Wenita Year Round”. 10km from PJP. Wenita permit. Require 6 weeks notice, but less from us. Taieri Gorge Railway. Phone 477 4449 for details.
18. 29 November 2023. Trampers. Mullocky Stream, Mt Allan Grade 3.5 Leaders: Sylvie/ Lyn/ Lynley
Cars park off motorway at Leith Saddle yard (alternatively down side road at bridge (restricted space). 25 km from car park.
Walk across side road to track.
Gravelled track 1.5 km. (morning tea on lookout seats a little further on)
Transmitter Tower 2 hours.
Going further: along road past doppler radar to DoC sign.
Right along Rustlers Ridge track to junction with Burns Track.
Through junction and up and round hill on Rustlers Ridge Track. (Lunch on hill)
Down ridge to pipeline. (Alternatively turn right at junction for Burns and down to pipeline)
Turn right along pipeline.
5.5 hours in all.
Burns – Rustlers circuit Maintained by Green Hut Track Group. DCC land.
19. 15/11/2023. Hikers. Cleghorn Street to Signal Hill. Leaders Pam Clough and Jay Devlin
23 keen hikers gathered on a beautiful day at the Bottom of Cleghorn St where we made our way up the gravel road to the beginning of our walk which was firstly over farmland. Continue reading “Signal Hill Tramps”
The day dawned fined and following some creative maths (11 doesn’t as it turns out does not fit nicely into 2) – 3 cars left Dunedin to meet up with the Mosgiel trampers at Waitati. After numerous toilet visits, we all finally continued to our starting point at Doctors Point Reserve.
Location: 43 km from car park. Click Silver Peaks Forest for background information. No. 21 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Green Hut & Pulpit Rock return or via Possum Hut. Year Round. Long.”
23. 1/10/2023. Combined. Green Hut Site and Pulpit Rock. Tramp Grade 4, Hike Grade 2. 43km. Leaders: Neil Hodgkin/Chris Bezett, Dave Roberts/Jay Devlin.
Hike to Green Hut (which is now two seats as the hut was deconstructed in 1988 because of ongoing vandalism).
On a foggy morning 18 keen hikers regathered at the On the Spot garage at Waitati where we turned left up a dusty road to the beginning Continue reading “Green Hut, Pulpit Rock”
Outram turned on another scorcher for 16 hikers. We started at the West Taieri Rugby Club and walked around Kings Court and Anzac Court subdivisions where the gardens were in full bloom. Continue reading “Outram – Allanton Flood Bank”
17. 11/10/2023. Hikers. St Clair, St Kilda, Ocean Grove. Grade 2, $5, 17km, Leaders: Bruce Spittle/Alex Griffin
Nineteen hikers left Marlow Park in sunny conditions at about 0930 after singing happy birthday to Liz Griffin and walked over the Kettle Park Sports field and up a track to the Barnes Lookout.
No. 47 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Toko Beach. M Young”; also No. 65 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Chrystalls Beach Farm”. Location: 59 km from the car park. Best in Summer. The stock winter over.
Directions: On SH1, before Milton, at Helensbrook intersection, left onto Forsyth Road, right onto Back Road, left onto Glenledi Road.
5. 4/10/2023. Combined. Quarantine Island. Grade 2, Leaders: Ross and Wyn Davies, Maria MacNee, Jenny Finnerty.
Twenty-eight trampers and hikers enjoyed a great day out with calm and temperate weather, a little cloudy, not the blue skies and sun the forecast promised. Perfect weather though for the crossing to Quarantine Island. Our day had started with a little confusion regarding numbers and meeting places but we all managed to get ourselves to Back Beach carpark safely (Julie and Viv might tell a few tales about their driver though, lol).
We walked off for morning tea in Lady Thorn Dell…
Morning Tea at Lady Thorn Rhododendron Dell. (photo and caption John)
… where we enjoyed fabulous views of the busy Port Chalmers.
Panorama – Port Chalmers on a quiet day. (photo and caption John)
Great photos and history on display at the lookout platform. Little remains of the dry dock and ship building industry that once provided for a vibrant community in the 19th and 20th centuries.
From Lady Thorn Dell we enjoy a leisurely meander through the town cemetery which it has to be said seems to hold an unhealthy interest for those of us still in the land of the living? Indicative of the average age of our enclave perhaps…? Nonetheless, interesting history to be gleaned from those old stones and bones.
Touring the Port Chalmers Cemetery. (photo and caption John)Lovely view from Port Chalmers Cemetery (photo and caption Marijke)
Coming back down to the Port we get a stunning glimpse of Carey’s Bay…
First glimpse of Careys Bay. (photo and caption John)
… before heading back to the wharf and Boiler Point where Captain John welcomes us aboard the island ferry the “Vivienne J”. After John treats us to a grand jaunt around the harbour basin (greatly appreciated by all on board)…
Beautiful Deborah Bay (photo and caption Ady)“Touring” Carey’s Bay. (photo and caption John)
…we “set sail” for the island, not bad value at $20 return! One wag commented that “It was very nice of Bruce to organise a cruise for Jenny on her birthday….”
Birthday Girl and her “guests” arrive at Quarantine Island (photo and caption Marijke)
Arriving at the jetty on the island, the skeletons of the Waikana…
“Touring” Carey’s Bay. (photo and caption Pam)
… and the Oreti form a kind of decaying guard of honour as we head up to the Lodge for lunch.
Lunch (photo and caption Helen)
After lunch we explore the island starting with the restored Married Quarters building in which is housed a beautifully modelled miniature of the Waikana as she was when in service as a harbour ferry.
Harbour Ferry “Waikana” as she once was. (photo and caption John)
Regenerating native bush rang with the sound of native bird life as we enjoyed an easy 30-minute walk around the island.
The “Sail” Shaped Chapel. (photo and caption by Pam)Inside the Chapel. (photo and caption John)Just the same as it was during a previous visit when I did a quick sketch (photo and caption Marijke)This drawing was from the same viewpoint (drawing and caption Marijke)Remnants from the old Hospital (photo and caption Marijke)Panorama – Looking back to Goat Island and Port Chalmers. (photo and caption John)
Our walks included visiting the sad sight of the island’s cemetery where the remains of 72 immigrants lay, half of them children, in unmarked graves. The small mounds are especially evocative. A sobering reminder of the fate of many immigrants who survived the arduous journey from the other side of the world in search of a better future, only to perish of scarletina and other deadly diseases in quarantine before they even set foot on the mainland.
Waiting on the jetty. (photo and caption Pam)
Heading back across the harbour our day is nicely rounded off by afternoon tea at the Santosha Cafe in the Port.
Coffee (photo and caption Helen)
A wonderful day out enjoyed by all.
Maria
4. 12/2/2020. Quarantine Island. Leaders Janice and Peter
43 hikers and trampers parked at Back Beach, Port Chalmers and walked along the wharf
edge past the stacks of logs. No cruise ship in port this time. Headed up the hill to our
morning tea spot at the beautifully maintained Lady Thorn Dell.
Photo and Caption John – “Morning tea at Lady Thorn Dell”
The lookout gave us good views of the container wharf which was busy with a container ship in.
Photo and Caption Clive _ “Port Chalmers from above.”
Meandered along the road , through the cemetery, and down to the main Aramoana road.
Photo and Caption John – “Visiting the Cemetary.”
A small detour took us down to the new extended fishing wharf at Boiler Point.
Photo and Caption Clive – “New wharf boiler point”Photo and Caption Clive – “What to see in Port Chalmers”
Carried on to the main street of Port Chalmers and up the hill to the lookout and Ralph Houtere Sculpture Park.
Photo and Caption Clive – “Ralph Houtere sculptures.”
Back down a bush track to Back Beach. With half an hour to go before the boat was due to arrive
most of us lunched in the car park. Were entertained by a heap of shags and gulls feasting
on some small silver fish. By this time the weather had cleared from a slightly drizzly misty
start to a very pleasant sunny calm day. Perfect for a boat trip.
Photo and Caption John – “On our way.”
Another two hikers arrived, which brought our numbers up to 45. Because of the numbers, the boat did two trips to the island. We were met by a very enthusiastic knowledgeable volunteer who took us to the old married quarters and gave us a very detailed overview of the history of the island.
Photo and Caption Clive – “Renovation inside married quarters.”Photo and Caption John – “Time for a break.”
Photo and Caption Clive -“Quarantine Island chapel”The renovations to this building have now been completed. Following this the majority of the
group did the half hour walk round the point, through the old cemetery, returning to the
wharf to be transported back to the car park.
Photo and Caption John – “Harbour view”Photo and Caption John – “All aboard”
Refreshments (including a yummy Devonshire tea for some of us) were at the historic Careys Bay Hotel – a pleasant end to the day sitting in front of the hotel overlooking the boat harbour.
Photo and Caption Janice – “the Quarantine Island visitors.”
Jan and Peter
3. 18/3/2015. Quarantine/St Martin Island from Port Chalmers. Leaders: Jan and Peter.
The weather was atrocious. Twenty-four Hikers and Ramblers arrived at the Back Beach car park. The rain fell. The wind blew. Leaders had told us our ferry to the island wasn’t to leave till 12.30 p.m. The sensible ones of us I believe waited out the morning in the shelter of their vehicles. The sillier ones were immediately into Parkas and gloves. Storm gear.
And off we set. Back the way we had come. Past the never-ending stretch of stacked logs, past the cruise ship, through the main intersection, up and along the road behind the church, across the railway line and on to Lady Thorn Dell. Here we gathered in the most sheltered (??) spot for morning tea. Few sat and even fewer partook. It was wet and cold.
Cuppa
Then surprise, upon the scene came up the two Lions Club members we had met as we entered the Dell, engaged in tidying the place up in preparation of a forthcoming important visit. They welcomed us and told us everything we could wish to know about the Dell’s history, from early quarrying of the rock, which initially was a hill stretching out to the water’s edge and whose stone now graces many of Dunedin’s buildings, notably the Railway Station, on through its life as a rubbish dump and subsequent clearing, to enable the further rhododendron planting and the present day. Wonderful.
Whereas we had earlier briefly entertained the idea of taking hot coffee in the warm embrace of Careys Bay Hotel, more time had now elapsed, so it was back down to the town,…
Local graffiti. On a shed wall a little way down from the Dell.
…in search of coffee that was more local. But the town was asleep, despite the cruise ship’s presence. No tourists. No cafes.
So we wandered around a bit, eventually sloping off in twos and fours back to the cars. We lunched separately, some in cars, some in other shelter, some exploring, until ferry-time arrived. Jan collected our ten dollar notes for paying the fare, and we boarded.
The VIvienne I
A lovely boat. Powerful too. The channel was a bit rough but in the lee of the island, all was smooth. And the sun had appeared and the rain had gone. A brightening-up afternoon. Hurrah.
It was no trouble alighting at the new wharf. The new island warden filled us in on local history, a salient point being that the St Martins Island Group name had very recently given way to the Quarantine Island Group name. Two other groups were there on the day, one of them being a two-day Tokomairio School Group. Our stay was a two-hour one, set to return at 3.00 p.m.
Rammed earth floor. A feature of the Island’s Chapel.
The walk round the top of the island was only half an hour. Lovely bush. The wind was strong on the sou-west side, the one exposed towards Dunedin, but the bush part of the track provided good shelter.
Having walked the main track,…
Track leading to loop trackOn the loop track
…some wandered off towards the old graveyard and the Portobello end of the island.
The Cemetery
The few sheep on the island were sheltered under a small plantation of pines. A brick chimney was all that remained of the old hospital.
Back towards the main buildings, the married quarters, once two-storied but now just a large hall, had been straightened up from an earlier lean, looking good in its fresh coat of paint.
Restored outside of Married Quarters BuildingInside old Married Quarters Building
The ‘wanderers’ joined the others waiting in the sun till ferry-time arrived.
Waiting in sun for ferry’s arrival.
All went smoothly as we reboarded and ‘sailed’ (?) back to the car park. A significant point, picked up from the crew, was that among them was the boat’s present owner, and the new owner , the one of the Monarch. This boat had apparently had a capacity for 33 passengers.
All agreed it had been a good day, all round. A day with a difference. A day to re-establish connections between Ramblers and old and newer Hikers.
The overnight rain cleared but a fresh wind stayed with us for the day. The venue at the North Taieri Church hall proved nice and comfy and just the right size to encourage plenty of chat, especially as it was decked out in the Xmas theme – Folk came and deposited fine finger food, 3 tables of main, two tables of sweets!! Very appetizing.
43. 06/12/2023. Trampers. North of Tomahawk. Grade 3. $7. 22km. Leaders: Esther Willis and Julie McKenzie
16. 06/12/2023. Hikers. Sutton Salt Lake – Glencreag Track. Grade 2.5. $16. 60km. Leaders: Wendy Langley/Katrina McKenzie
18. 22/11/2023.Hikers. Millennium Track from Henley Ferry Bridge. Grade 3. 27km. Leaders: Ady Whitson/Bruce Wright.
35. 22/11/2023. Trampers. Burns/Rustlers Ridge. Grade 4. 25km. Leaders: Phil Morris/Carolyn Pridham.
19. 15/11/2023. Hikers. Cleghorn Street to Signal Hill. Leaders Pam Clough and Jay Devlin
