Nov 17 2023

Signal Hill tramps

Published by under Trampers,Year round

Distance Chingford from carpark: 20 km.
Follow Old Main North Road to Cleghorn Street which has the best view of the harbour. Walkway sign.
Walk starts starts at the gate on right, up McGregors Hill. Beyond stile Pine plantation on 3rd stile at summit.
Gravel road 10 minutes to end. Locked gate. Last stile. Signal Hill road.

15 Nov Signal Hill Harbour View With Hikers. Square Small Janette19. 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 »

No responses yet

Nov 17 2023

Doctors Point area tramps

Published by under Beach,Both Hikers & Trampers,Hikers

Distance from car-park to Waitati: 34 km.

Distance from car-park to Doctors Point: 38 km.

15 Nov Orokonui Canoe Beach Race Against The Tide Square Resize Pam25. 15/11/2023. Orokonui Circuit. Grade 3. Leaders: Graeme Souter & Gail Williams
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.

Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Nov 12 2023

Portobello, Clarks, Sheppards, McArthny, Varleys Hills

Published by under Trampers

Distance Portobello from car-park: 32 km.

Map of area

Img20231108124710 Square Res100x10013. 8/11/2023. Hikers. Varleys Hill-Hereweka Track. Grade 2.5. $9. 32km. Leaders: Jan Butcher/Jenny Finnerty

22 hikers set off on a cloudy morning for the Portobello Community carpark. Continue Reading »

3 responses so far

Nov 08 2023

Mount Hyde Station

Published by under Lambing Sep-Nov,Trampers,Year round

No. 5 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Mt Hyde to Taieri River. Aqueduct. D Moir. Farm. Lambing.”
Location: 23.5 km. Lambing September-November.
Dsc07061 Square 100x10016. 8/11/2023. Trampers. Mt Hyde. Grade 3.5. $7. 24km. Leaders: Anne Ward, Di Bezett, Lyn Keene
We started our tramp with an enthusiatic group of 23.

Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Nov 01 2023

Green Hut, Pulpit Rock

Published by under Both Hikers & Trampers,Trampers and tagged: , , , , , ,

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.”

22. 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.

image (2) Helen square RES100x100Hike 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 »

No responses yet

Oct 28 2023

Shannons Farm Walk

Published by under Both Hikers & Trampers

Distance from PJP car park 48km.

3. 25/10/2023. Trampers.  Cairn Valley/Shannon, Grade 3, 48km. Leaders: Heather Kirk, Diane Paterson.

Walking through lush grassLovely sunshine greeted 30 keen trampers for a good day’s walk on Cairnvalley Farm Shannon. Strath Taieri offers something different in scenery with tussock hills, huge rock formations and at this time of the year fresh green vistas of paddocks and Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Oct 28 2023

Outram – Allanton Flood Bank

Published by under Hikers

Outram 10 km /  Henley 21 km – from car park.

4. 25/10/2023. Hikers. Outram Loop. Grade 1.5, 11km, Leaders: Sue Nichol, Kathryn Fagg.

image (1) Square RES150x150Outram 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 »

No responses yet

Oct 22 2023

Grahams Bush/Old Rd Car Park, Organ Pipes, Buttars Peak, Mount Cargill.

Published by under Trampers

Click Grahams Bush history for background information.
Click Mount Cargill history for background information.
No. 19 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Sawyers Bay – Grahams Bush. M Deuchrass. Summer.”
Sawyers Bay Road 28 km from car park; Mount Cargill Road car park: 25 km.

17. 18/10/2023. Grahams Bush/Mt Cutten. Leaders Pam Cocks and John Gardiner
DSC07015 RES100x100Introduction:
Nineteen Trampers in 4 cars (x1 from Dunedin) arrived at the bottom of the Grahams Bush track, end of Hall Rd, Sawyers Bay. The weather forecast for the day being promising with little wind and a high of 19deg. Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Oct 21 2023

Maia to Port Chalmers

Published by under Hikers

1. 18/10/2023. Maia to Port Chalmers. Hikers. Leaders Mike and Max

image RES100x100Once again Max and Mike showed their dedication to the TRTC by leaving a delicately poised England v Italy football match on TV to catch a bus to Maia to meet up with the hiking team who were assembling by the parking area at the Maia bus stop on SH88. Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Oct 17 2023

St Clair Beach Walks

Published by under Beach,Hikers,Year round

17 km from car park.

17. 11/10/2023. Hikers. St Clair, St Kilda, Ocean Grove. Grade 2, $5, 17km, Leaders: Bruce Spittle/Alex Griffin
IMG20231011111808 RES100x100Nineteen 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.

Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Oct 15 2023

Chrystalls Beach, Toko Mouth

Published by under Beach,Both Hikers & Trampers,Year round

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.

22. 11/10/2023. Trampers. Crystalls Beach. Grade 2.5, $15, 59km, Leaders: Dave Roberts, Jill Reid
IMG_7384 100x100A fine overcast morning greeted us at Peter Johnstone Park with 19 trampers in 5 cars beginning our tramp at 10am. Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Oct 05 2023

Quarantine/St Martins Island

Published by under Both Hikers & Trampers,Camps

*Click this Wikipedia entry on Quarantine Island, if you wish.
*Click here for a PDF fact sheet of the original Quarantine Island
*And here is the St Martin Island Community web page. Click the photo at the bottom to see original buildings!
*Click a quarantine-island-botanical-report for a (bit dated) 1987 report on the island’s vegetation, if you like.
30 kms PJP to Back Beach.

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…

DSC06903 John Res 1200

Morning Tea at Lady Thorn Rhododendron Dell. (photo and caption John)

… where we enjoyed fabulous views of the busy Port Chalmers.

DSC06904 John Res 1800

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.

DSC06914 John Res 1200

Touring the Port Chalmers Cemetery. (photo and caption John)

image_50402305 Marijke Res 1200

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…

DSC06921 John Res 1000

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)…

20231004_113119 Ady Res 1400

Beautiful Deborah Bay (photo and caption Ady)

DSC06924 John Res 1200

“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….”

image_50727937 Marijke Res 1000

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…

IMG_7273 Pam Res 1600

“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.

image_3 Helen Res 1600

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.

DSC06952 John Res 1200

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.

IMG_7298 Pam Res 1000

The “Sail” Shaped Chapel. (photo and caption by Pam)

DSC06958 John Res 1200

Inside the Chapel. (photo and caption John)

image_50429953 Marijke Res 1200

Just the same as it was during a previous visit when I did a quick sketch (photo and caption Marijke)

image_6483441 Marijke Res 960

This drawing was from the same viewpoint (drawing and caption Marijke)

image_50433281 Marijke Res 1000

Remnants from the old Hospital (photo and caption Marijke)

DSC06962 John Res 1900

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.

IMG_7303 Pam Res 1600

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.

image_1 Helen Res 1200

Coffee (photo and caption Helen)

A wonderful day out enjoyed by all.
Maria Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Sep 30 2023

Deep Creek Weir from Old Dunstan Road past Rocklands

Published by under Both Hikers & Trampers,Year round

No. 2 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Deep Stream [Stream crossed out and replaced by Creek] (Rocklands). R Lippers. Cattle.”
No. 56 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Deep Creek from Old Dunstan Road. (Rocklands. Year Round”
Est, 50 km from car park.
See Deep Creek Water Scheme Pipeline history.
See further background information behind Deep Stream project

19. Welsh’s Road, Old Farm, Deep Stream Weir. Grade 3 Leaders: Lyn and Di

13 of us set off for the Pipeline, which is just off the old Dunstan trail on Rocklands Station.

We had morning tea under the pine trees where we parked the vehicles. It was a tad cold but we soon warmed up with the walk over the farmland to the pipeline.

Up and up over farmland. Caption and photo Pam

Up and up over farmland. Caption and photo Pam

The countryside is getting more rugged Caption and photo Marjke

The countryside is getting more rugged Caption and photo Marijke

Tramping nirvana, easy level dry track, marvelous views Caption and photo John

Tramping nirvana, easy level dry track, marvellous views Caption and photo John

It was stunning scenery walking to the Weir and back.

Happy Trampers. Caption and photo John

Happy Trampers. Caption and photo John

Pump house and Weir. Caption and photo Pam

Pump house and Weir. Caption and photo Pam

Exploring the engineering feat, the Deep Stream Weir. Caption and photo John

Exploring the engineering feat, the Deep Stream Weir. Caption and photo John

Can you spot the hut Caption and photo Marijke

Can you spot the hut? Caption and photo Marijke

We had lunch in the sun out of the gorge with more room to spread out.

Refuelling. (Pipeline track to the weir in the background). Caption and photo Pam

Refuelling. (Pipeline track to the weir in the background). Caption and photo Pam

Then took the road back to the cars. It was 8.84ks according to my phone.

Some finished the day with a cuppa at the Wobbly Goat. Another great day out.

Continue Reading »

One response so far

Sep 30 2023

Caversham – Street Walk.

Published by under Hikers,Year round

14 kms PJP to cnr South Rd and Eastbourne St.

5. 27/09/2023 Hikers. Grade 2 Leaders: Jan and Jan

20 hikers set off from the old Carisbrook Hotel through the very run-down Caversham shopping area.  We had a couple of stops to look at a bit of the history of the area.  There were other points of interest, but with so much chatter going on, decided to give it a miss! We headed up South Road for a morning tea stop at a house belonging to Jan Y’s brother.  It is a large property extending right down to just above the main trunk railway line.  He has a stall at the Farmers Market every Saturday and has grown and propagated an extensive number of plants.  Also has numerous tunnel houses, a couple of fruiting tamarillo trees and an avocado tree.  He is a rockhound and there was a very large collection of rocks, crystals etc. on display.

Rocks and propagating Caption and photo Helen

Rocks and propagating Caption and photo Helen

Photo Helen

Photo Helen

Photo Helen 1

Photo Helen

Because there was so much to look at, the morning tea break was a bit longer than normal.  We carried on up South Road to the Carlton Hill area, then cut across a couple of streets and back down to Sidey Street where you got a good view of Corstorphine House.  From there we headed up a track which took us into the Kew area, with great views of Dunedin.

Top of steps gathering up Caption and photo Helen

Top of steps gathering up Caption and photo Helen

Down through a steep set of steps (Killikrankie Pass – a cool name) and we ended up in a park at Forbury Corner for lunch.

Lunch. We were all scattered. Caption and photo Helen

Lunch. We were all scattered. Caption and photo Helen

Returned to the cars by crossing over the motorway on an overhead bridge, then walked down a path on the north side back to the cars.

On the overbridge Caption and photo Helen

On the overbridge Caption and photo Helen

It was a pleasant day with no wind, and we covered approx 8 kms, at quite a leisurely pace.  Several members of the group had lived in the vicinity of area covered so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane for them.  Thanks to Jan and Pam who did a very enjoyable recce with me.  The Two Jans.

Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Sep 24 2023

Gardens – Pinehill Return

Published by under Hikers

21 kms PJP to Pine Hill School (via 3 Mile Hill Rd).

2. 20/09/2023. Hikers. Pine Hill. Grade 2. $5. 21km. Leaders: Jan Butcher/Jenny Finnerty.

30 hikers turned up on a warm slightly windy day for our Pine Hill trek.
The start of the day - Helen

The start of the day – Photo & Caption Helen

We met up with a couple of town folk at Malvern Street & walked through Woodhaugh gardens where we stopped for morning tea to fortify us for the trip up the hill.

Morning tea at Woodhaugh Gardens – Photo & Caption Helen

Beautiful clematis

Beautiful clematis – Photo & Caption Helen

Jenni

Unusual piece in Pine Hill neighbourhood – Photo & Caption Jenni

We did it a little differently from last time & walked up the motorway for a bit before turning right onto Fea Street and on upwards to meet with Pine Hill Road.
A field of daffodils

A field of daffodils – Photo & Caption Helen

At the end of this road we turned right onto Campbell Road and walked to the end of the housing.  This then becomes a wide dirt track which we followed to the end.  It was about noon so everyone was happy to find a comfy spot on the embankment and enjoy the vista before them.
Lunch out of the wind Helen

Lunch out of the wind – Photo & Caption Helen

A lot of people told me they had never been up Pine Hill let alone this track with its best kept secret.  And unbelievably there was no wind to speak of so we enjoyed the next half hour eating and talking about the view and trying to spot places of interest on the opposite side of the hill & beyond.
Reluctantly we had to “shift our bottoms” and start the walk back down the hill, this time turning at Pine Hill School and down onto Buccleugh Street which wound its way down and down to meet up with the 219 Duddingstone steps.  We decided to head on over to the Botanic Gardens for a well earned treat.  I had prewarned the cafe that there could be 30 takers for afternoon tea.  He sounded a little shocked but managed us all no bother.
Amazing service at Crocodile Cafe. Jenni

Amazing service at Crocodile Cafe – Photo & Caption Jenni

Some of the drivers were kind enough to go back to their cars and bring them to the carpark for their passengers. Thank you Pam. After refreshments some of us  picked up some bargains at the plant shop adjacent to the cafe. We then walked back to the cars, admiring the beautiful camellias etc along the way.  A good 10k walk on a nice day.
Jenny F and Jan B

Continue Reading »

No responses yet

« Prev - Next »