Taieri Recreational Tramping Club

5. 21/02/2024. Tramp.  Blackrock. Leaders: Jill and Neil

13 trampers had a “Rock Day” beginning with rock music at Peter Johnson Park where athletic sports were about to start.
We tramped the reverse route from last time after parking in Ash Beattie’s yard. The day was sunny, became warmer as time went on and the expected wind proved to not be a problem. Morning Tea was enjoyed at the Black Rock.

No. 30 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Woodside Glen to Maungatuas. E Blackburn, D McEwan. Summer”

Short and long options. (Maungatua climb fairly steep. 5-7 hours. Heavy tussock on top.  Route only. Manager: DOC.)

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18. 14/2/2024. Trampers. Maungatua Option. Leaders Lyn Keene, Anne Ward and Di Bezett

Travel Distance 40ks, Grade: 3.5, Altitude gain: 711 metres. Total distance: 15.64 ks.

The day dawned to reveal blue skies and temperatures were predicated to be between 28-29 degrees. Continue Reading »

10 km from car park.

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Part: Tramping Track, Managed by DOC. Rest: Not during lambing Sept-Nov. Seek Permission.

Hikers: Leaders Heather and Val Cayford

30 km from car-park. No permission needed to reservoir. Cedar Farm: Seek Permission DCC Forestry.

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29. 31/01/2024 Mihiwaka/ Mount Kettle. Trampers Grade 4 Leaders: Pam and Diane

11 trampers left PJ Park at 8.45 and meet up with 5 Dunedin trampers on Borlases’s Road, Port Chalmers. We continued onto Blueskin road in misty weather which got thicker as we drove up to park 1km north from Cedar Farm Forest carpark (CFF) A car was left at CFF carpark to ferry drivers back to their cars at the end of tramp. Continue Reading »

No. 76 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Coutts Gully Return Sawmill Rd Farm”. Livingstonia Park distance from car-park: 32 km.

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30. 31/01/2024. Hikers Coutts Gully Road.  Grade 3. Leaders: Bruce and Alex

After welcoming a new hiker, Peter Dodds, twenty-four hikers left Livingstonia Park, about 9.30 am, heading to the left (east) to the sand dune track that led out to the road by the bridge and then headed up Sawmill Road to have morning tea beside the implement shed on Alan Gorton’s farm.

Lake Mahinerangi. From Eldorado Track, Cox’s Reef, Cosmopolitan battery, Timber Gully Waterfalls, old gold workings. (data lacking)

No. 8 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Ship & Anchor. Lake Mahinerangi. George. Year round.”

Long tramp. Tussock now heavy. Summer too hot? Autumn may be preferable.

14. 24/01/2024. Trampers. Ship at Anchor. Grade 4.5. $14.  Leaders: Phil Keene/Gary Mort Lyn Keene.

18 keen trampers turned up and left right on time at 8.30am in 4 vehicles, stopping briefly in Outram for tramper No 19, then travelled through the rolling uplands to above Lake Mahinerangi, before turning right up the El Dorado track, right to the end, through mobs of daggy sheep, the windfarm, the Blackrock Scientific Reserve and finally through the locked gates of DCC 3 Waters with the cameras keeping an eye. Ross was in charge of the key and maybe had a pinch of hypothermia by the time he was back in the car. Brrr would we find our riches at El Dorado?

It was 10am before we set off walking, the group happily forgoing morning tea until we arrived 45 minutes later at the Chinese Diggings situated on the east bank of Deep Stream which was up a little following rain the prior day.

Mmm NZ Topo 50 is telling us we have to go west and will have to cross. The thought of this seemed to necessitate a continuous stream of walkers, single file, into the bushes. Thankfully they all came back and with a little help from our friends we all crossed, with wet feet and knees to the other side.

Thus began a steep ascent with a new pathway selected every few steps, not to mention the need for a breather at fairly short intervals!

The ascent was followed by steady to steep ridge-line walk keeping to the true left of a stream, before crossing over nearly at the head, and finally over the last brow of a hill to arrive after 2 hours from morning tea, of fairly serious tramping, at the Ship at Anchor;

thankfully we had not missed the boat and it provided good shelter along with the snow tussock from the fresh westerly that had been present all morning.

Our departure was not too long with those who had not previously been here circumnavigating the Ship and we all followed a course on the true right of the stream down another ridge-line, initially made ‘easy’ by a water course shaped I think by ancient shovels?

With the possibility of a precipice emerging in front our leader tacked left just in time onto another ridge that steeply descended towards a man made watercourse, scout Graham finding the appropriate gang plank onto the other side. It would be fair to say knees were now creaking as we traversed parallel with the contours dropping every now and then towards the crossing of Deep Stream. According to the leaders timepiece we took longer down than up, just like the Grand Olde Duke of York……oh dear!

If feet and knees were by now warm and dry they were wetted again and with all crossing safely we re-grouped and took off up the prairie back to the cars, this being quite a steady upland walk!

We departed paradise at 4.30pm arriving back in Mosgiel at 5.30pm. Rumour has it that the hydrotherapy pool has been busy since the trip, no wonder. The expansive and varied landscapes are so much more rewarding when set in such a remote and wild environment. Because of the access restrictions at the Weir this was the first time travel to the Ship at Anchor had been done this way. Distance 10.47km, elevation gain 661m, moving time 3:25;59, calories 1,016. And I’m sticking with grade 4.5.

Thanks to everyone for supporting each other so well.

Phil K

Distance from carpark: 40 km.

11. 17/01/2024. Hikers. Warrington. Leaders Jenny Finnerty and Jay Devlin

15 hikers met at the Warrington Domain.

 

No. 23 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Karetai Rd via Monument from Lagoon. Year round.”

Distance from car-park: Tomahawk: 19 km; Smaills Beach: 22 km;  Paradise Road: 26 km.’

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.

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43. 06/12/2023. Trampers. North of Tomahawk. Grade 3. $7. 22km. Leaders: Esther Willis and Julie McKenzie

As hoped, the weather was kind to us, as this tramp would be wasted without being able to savour the spectacular views.

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.

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13. 06/12/2023. Hikers. Sutton Salt Lake – Glencreag Track. Grade 2.5. $16. 60km. Leaders: Wendy Langley/Katrina McKenzie

17 of us headed to Sutton where we walked the Sutton Lake loop. Continue Reading »

“Legends of the Lower Taieri” includes a section about John Bull if you persist in reading down far enough.

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18. 22/11/2023.Hikers. Millennium Track from Henley Ferry Bridge. Grade 3. 27km. Leaders: Ady Whitson/Bruce Wright.

We had a great day on the track. Weather was great with 20 Hikers enjoying the day. We parked about 2/3 the way down the road from the stile. Continue Reading »

Click Swampy ridge track for background information.
See also: Leith Saddle and Morrison Tracks
Leith Saddle, Waitati Valley Road, Sawmill Track, Swampy Ridge, Burns Track