21/5/2014.Trampers: Nth Taieri Church, logging site, Mill Stream Rd, Silver Stream Rd. Car Shuttle. M
GPS of route, courtesy Ken. We walked 12.6km; 4.1 km/hr; Climbed 595mtrs; Max elev 447mtrs.
4 intrepid trampers turned up to do a walk that had never been done before by the club. The weather was not looking good, but we set off to leave one car at the Silverstream end, then came back to the Nth. Taieri Church, and walked up the muddy paddock to the restored cottage, where we had an early morning tea break. After this we walked up the track along the valley, which we found to be quite difficult due to fallen bushes across the track. Once into the pine forest the going was a lot clearer, but much steeper, & we worked up a bit of sweat climbing through here, so it was off with some clothing. When the top was reached at the farm paddocks, the wind was very brisk [& cold] so wind break clothing was quickly donned again. The walk along the farm road was uneventful, but when we reached the logging road we had to watch out for the trucks using it.
We walked past the log processing site, & into City forests, [which I forgot to get permission for], and then onto a little used road which lead us to the top of Mill Stream Rd. There was a lot of deer sign down here, but we didn’t see any deer. After crossing Mill Stream, it was a climb up the other side of the valley, where we stopped in the shelter of the trees for lunch, …
Packing up after lunch. (Heb pic, Ken caption)
… then up again through the back of Strauss’s property to the end of Mill Stream Rd. & onto the track leading down into Silverstream valley, back to the car which we had parked in the farmer’s yard earlier in the day.
The weather was good all day except for a short shower as we came down the track into Silverstream valley, although the wind was quite cold all day.
Everybody agreed it was a good walk, and that they would do it again. – Ken
21/5/2014. Street Walk: Maori Hill. E. Leaders: Lance and Lois.
GPS
(An inadequate report. Only a summary. Anyone care to improve on/add to/alter it? Please notify.) Cars parked on Queens Drive encircling Prospect Park. Across Lachlan Avenue to Stonelaw Terrace, down a steep track at its end, first seal, then small crushed metal, to emerge on Queens Drive, then up Chamberlain Street for a short distance, along Como Street and up View Park Lane. This was a revelation to the reporter, who had known nothing about this (unique to Dunedin?) lane of letter boxes sited at the end of back sections to properties fronting otherwise onto Como (our left) and Chamberlain (our right) Streets. A gift for posties! Then along Falkland Street, down Drivers Road, to climb Tolcarne Avenue and stop just below Tolcarne Collegiate School Hostel to enjoy morning tea at a view point.
Taking in the view at morning tea. … well, most. Sorry Fred.The view. Sorry again, Fred.
Then up Grendon Street, finding a lane taking in the back properties of houses on left and right with their frontages out on adjacent roads. (Unsure though where this was.) Out onto Highgate, through the village onto Balmacewan Road and up Prestwick Street to its terminus and return. Along Pilkington Road, to take Cannington Road to spot where it ends at the bush, return and follow Cairnhill Street into Braeview Crescent to explore it to each of its terminuses (or termini if you must be linguistically correct) to their ends. Back along Cannington Road to find our way into Brownville Crescent, another new find for the reporter. Here was a road necessarily one-way due to its narrowness. Lance thought it likely than a developer had enforced his wishes on some early Maori Hill Borough Council, narrowing its width to increase adjacent property areas as much as possible. It exited onto Highgate. Then it was back down to the cars at Prospect Park. Early lunch, scheduled to be finished before a forecast storm. However this came only later when driving back home, so lunch was enjoyed in the sun on a bank sheltering us from the wind. Thanks to Lance and Lois for a well reconnoitred, imaginative and most enlightening route. – Ian.
A sneaked lunch view.Birthday Bev at table head. Sorry about the light interference.
On Tuesday March 25th Judy Knox and two friends of long-standing, Jan and Brian, set off for the Hollyford Valley. After a night at Te Anau we were at the road-end by midday on Wednesday, and had a leisurely three-hour walk to Hidden Falls Hut. Next morning Brian discovered he had left his heart pills in the car, so did a quick return for them, and we proceeded to Alabaster Hut, extending the day’s tramping, for him , to almost nine hours.
Still feeling fit, we covered the next, longer, leg, from Alabaster to Demon Falls Hut, in eight hours – a bit over the suggested time, but we always take regular (hourly) rests, and our pace is steady but not fast, considering heavyish packs. The track from the road-end to Alabaster is great – wide and well-formed, with gentle gradients. However, from here on it becomes seriously rough, and very up and down, making pretty hard going.
Now the fun begins. It’s Friday morning. We get an early start (first light) and set off in good heart. But Jan rapidly develops a pain in her right knee and gets slower and slower. We take numerous rests, lighten her pack, and watch anxiously. The ups and downs are endless, the three-wire bridges a real problem for her, and the map gives no indication of how far it is to the next hut – Hokuri, supposedly about eight hours from Demon Trail Hut.
Daylight fades. We scramble on, now having to haul Jan over numerous obstacles. We have a look at her leg. The knee is badly swollen and barely takes her weight. Darkness falls. After thirteen hours tramping we call it a day, scramble off the waterfall of a track to a dry spot in the bush, and set up a fly camp. Lots of things to be thankful for. It’s fine and warm, and I am carrying my new poncho, which is large enough to open out into a fly, which we rig over a log and attach to our walking poles with bootlaces.
The bivvy camp (Judy pic and caption)
And we are carrying a locator beacon. Hot soup, and we settle for the night. Surprisingly we all sleep relatively well, in spite of the odd buzz of a mosquito and some light rain just before daylight. Hopefully the rest will help Jan’s knee and we can get to the hut in the morning.
No such luck. When she rolls out of her sleeping bag she can barely stand. We debate the options. Nothing for it but to set off the beacon, albeit reluctantly. We eat muesli and drink milo, then pack up and wait. Two hours later we hear the chopper approaching. It spirals down, and Brian and I frantically wave yellow pack liners until visual contact is made.
Looking up at the chopper (Judy pic and caption)
There is just a small window of sky visible, but the medic is winched safely down and makes a quick assessment.
Jan is strapped into a harness, her face rather ghostly white, and I don’t envy her as she spins wildly up …
Jan spirals upward (Judy pic and caption)
… through the trees and into the chopper. The medic follows with her pack,
Followed by the Medic with her pack (Judy pic and caption)
and suddenly we are alone again.
It’s only 45 minutes to Hokuri, but we agree Jan could never have made it. We spend a quiet afternoon at the hut recovering, before setting off next morning (Sunday) for Martins Bay, reached uneventfully in six reasonable hours.
It’s a beautiful place. Please, no roads around here! Next day we catch the jet boat up the lake, as previously arranged, and anxious to be reunited with Jan, walk the six hours from Alabaster Landing to the road end and the car, a welcome sight. We find her comfortably ensconced at the camping ground, using crutches to get around. It seems a ligament ‘blew up’, causing all the trouble.
In retrospect, we feel we handled the situation well. Maybe ‘oldies’ like us should not have tackled such a tough track in the first place, but by finishing the trip, Brian and I felt exonerated. We were lucky with the weather – rain would have made things a lot more difficult – but we were well-equipped and never felt in any serious danger.
High praise for the helicopter crew, and the fast efficient way in which they responded and carried out the rescue. – Judy
Motatapu Trip. We walked 21.7km; Moving time 7 hrs 19min; Ave 2.9km/hr; Climbed 1283mtrs asl; Total height climbed 1296mtrs.
Away back about the middle of last year, while casting around for an adventure for the trampers, I came up with the idea of walking the Motatapu Track. After discussing this with a couple of others, it was decided to do the first 1/2 of the track only, as the logistics of getting cars to the other end was rather difficult. This track goes from the Glendu Bay end of Lake Wanaka, through to Macetown/Arrowtown via a walking track put in place by Soho Properties. It has 3 huts along it’s length which are very comfortable 12 bunk units.
We originally had 9 interested trampers, but this dwindled to 6 as time went on. We only had two informal meetings [one at the Waitati coffee shop, the other at Neil & Carole’s place] to sort out who was going to do what in the way of food, hut tickets, cars, etc.
4 of us left Mosgiel at 6am on the 4th March, to meet up with Neil & Carole in Wanaka, at Neil’s daughter’s place, where we quickly loaded up everybody’s packs with a share of the food supplies, had a cuppa, & then drove around to the start of the track …
Sign at the start. (Ken pic and caption)
… where 6 intrepid trampers set off on what we had been told many times was a rather hard slog.
It’s only 7 km to the first hut [Fern Burn], but when you are carrying 20+kg for the men & 15+kg for the women, & not used to it, it is quite a distance, & the track, apart from the first few kms, is narrow, & has some quite steep climbs, & drops along it’s length. One of the group [who shall remain nameless] pulled a muscle in a leg about 2 km from the hut, at a part of the most difficult/steepest section of the track & was unable to carry his pack, so Neil & I did a back & forward shuffle. We would carry our pack along the track a bit, then go back & pick up his, carry it forward some more, then go back for our own pack, & repeat the process, until we eventually got everybody, & everything to Fern Burn hut. As we sat around recovering, it was decided that the next day the injured party would stay at Fern Burn hut until the rest of us arrived back again. This meant that we could leave behind a small amount of our gear that we would not need for the next two days, so our packs would be marginally lighter.
The next morning 5 set off on the 2nd leg to go to Highland Creek Hut, which is about 6 km away, but a much more arduous section of the track, & climbs to about 1280 mtrs ASL. After what seemed like hours, & many rest stops, we finally reached…
We made it!! The top of Jack Hall’s Saddle. (Ken pic and caption)
… the top of Jacks Pass [1280 mtrs] to a majestic view of the surrounding valleys & snow topped mountains, where we had a well deserved rest & lunch. On looking down the imposing other side, …
Looking down towards Highland Creek Hut (Ken pic and caption)
… [very narrow track along the top of a very steep, narrow ridge, with drops on either side] the ladies decided that they were not going any further, & that they would go back to Fern Burn hut. So it was left for me & Neil to decide what we would do. After discussing the prospect of having to climb back up the imposing track the next morning, we decided that, as we wouldn’t see much more than what we could from where we were, we would also go back to Fern Burn hut. I guess there was a sense of disappointment for us, that we wouldn’t fulfill our original idea of going to Highland Creek hut & back, but our tired bodies from yesterday’s efforts, told us that enough was enough. So we packed up after lunch, & headed back the way we had come. At least this time, it was mostly all downhill, …
Looking back to Fern Burn Hut (Ken pic and caption)
… & we made good time back to Fern Burn hut, where our injured member was reasonably surprised to see all of us coming back. We had only one incident on the way back, when another party member [who shall also remain nameless] had a leg collapse under them & toppled over the track edge. This was done without any damage to body or equipment, so all ended well.
After another good evening meal, a night’s sleep, & some breakfast, we packed up in preparation for the walk back to the cars. This time we shared out most of the contents of the injured person’s pack between the other members of the party, & sent the injured member off on his own to see how he would manage, the rest of us following about 1/4 – 1/2 an hour later. I finally caught up with him when he took a rest stop, about 2/3rds of the way out, so there was no real problem getting everybody back to the car park.
We had brilliant weather all the time, not too hot, & just about right for tramping. All agreed it had been a hard 3 days, but was enjoyable. A good bunch to go away with, & we had a good few laughs along the way. – Ken.
5. 19/2/2014. Trampers. Pineapple, Ben Rudd, Davies.
GPS of route., courtesy Ken. (Anti-clockwise from Booth Road) 9.2 km; 3 km/hr; 3 hr 6 min moving time; 2 hrs stopped!!; Climbed 589 mtrs.The group at the new seat. (Heb pic and caption)Afternoon tea break at the bottom of Davies track. (Ken pic and caption)Hazel in deep thought over her phone. (Ken pic and caption)
6. 22/1/2014. Hikers. Hoopers Inlet from Hall. Easy. Leaders: Barbara and Arthur
GPS of route (record started a bit late!). Total distance more like 11 kms.
22 Hikers parked their 7 cars at Hoopers Inlet Hall. As recorded on the last report below, we rested for morning tea on the old Hoopers Inlet School grounds. Then over the hill to the the Papanui Inlet Road – Cape Saunders Road – Hoopers Inlet Road to the end. Over the style for lunch on a grassy slope sheltered from the wind.
Lunch at Allans Beach
A quick visit after down to the beach rewarded us with the sight of a sealion sanding himself in the sun. We retraced our steps back to the cars parked at Hoopers Inlet Hall.
(Extract from http://portobello.org.nz/our-community/hoopers-inlet-hall/:
The Hall belongs to the local community and is run and maintained by them. Originally built as a boating club, the hall was for many years “the place to be seen”. Dances have taken place here over the years and many local people have had family members start their courting days at this hall. The hall has extensive views of Harbour Cone (Hereweka) which can be viewed from the deck and double doors built onto a sheltered open space. The reconstructed fireplace is a central feature of the hall. … The kitchen has been modernised. The hall caters for all sorts of occasions. For a booking, call Jackie 478 0508 or email [email protected] to check availability.)
5. 30/10/2013. Trampers. Old Lee Stream Hotel and Valley.
GPS of route, courtesy Ken and Ian H. Distance 11.5 km; walking time 2 hr 52 mins; Ave 4 km/hr; Total ascent 376 mtrs.
A small group of keen trampers set off to Lee Stream Bridge on a fine day. The planned farm track turned out to be a formed, gravel road which we followed through lush, green paddocks across James Reid’s property. Half-an-hour of steady climbing led us to a morning tea stop by the patch of pines and then onwards and upwards to the top. The map route we were following stopped, but there was a timely meetup with the farmer-owner of the farm who showed us where to go to traverse the section not indicated on the map.
From the highest point on the farm (which was not very high) we looked across to Silver Peaks, Saddle Hill and over to Lea Stream School in the south-west. Due to snow, this school has the most non-school days in the country.
Further on, we looked down on the old Lee Stream Hotel nestled amongst the trees and from here we headed for our starting point reached by an easy downhill tramp across more paddocks and scattering ewes and lambs.
It was a very pleasant tramp of easy to moderate grade. – Neil.
4. 31/5/2000. Old Lee Stream Hotel and Valley. Lee Stream Ramble. Scorgies Farm. Leaders: Ria L, Catherine, Molly.
3. 27/7/1994. Old Lee Stream Hotel and Valley. Scorgies Farm. Medium. Leaders: Ted C, Jack R, Jack M, Bob H.
Great farmland round trip. Park cars up from Old Pub. Follow up the stream.
2. 15/5/1991. Old Lee Stream Hotel and Valley. A bit of history and nice rolling countryside. Easy. Leaders: Ted, Jack. Ivan, Shirley
1. 19/7/1989. Old Lee Stream Hotel. (Average). History pub. Follow up the stream. Leaders: Betty, Bob, Jean
