Outram Heritage Trail and Floodbank

 

Thumbnail Image Square04/09/2024. Outram Heritage Trail and Floodbank. Grade 2. Combined. Leaders: Anette MacRae, Katrina McKenzie, Cathy Ferguson, Janette Abbot.
41 happy walkers left the Outram Rugby Club carpark and headed around Outram following the heritage trail looking at old churches, halls, houses and banks. Continue reading “Outram Heritage Trail and Floodbank”

Outram – Allanton Flood Bank

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

Outram, Allanton, Floodbanks, Lee Stream, Traquair, Whare Creek – Information and Trips Library


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 “Outram – Allanton Flood Bank”

Flood Bank Otokia to Allanton

1. 22/3/2017. Flood bank walk from Otokia to Allanton. E. Leaders: Lester and Ian.

Route Map, Flood Bank Otokia to Allanton, courtesy Clive.

This flood bank walk from Otokia to Allanton was a first for the Club. It was Lester’s idea, with his knowledge of the Taieri River plain, to vary from the programmed regular one from Allanton to Outram.We had to car-shuttle. We parked our cars on a property at the end of Otokia East Road, by kind permission of a grandson of Dr Alex Luke. The weather was mild. We climbed onto the flood bank. 25 of us were away.

The Taieri River at Otokia. (Clive pic and caption.)

Lester had arranged for us to have morning tea in Mrs Mason’s attractive woodland property, which although alongside Centre Road was still a paddock or two distant from the flood bank on the day. How to get there? The leaders hadn’t worked that out. Barb wire fences in way as we moved on, looking for a way through. None. But who’s this?  Mrs Mason hurrying across the paddocks to us, wondering why we hadn’t turned up. Lester went back to talk to her while we waited, but this writer is ignorant of what transpired. Oh dear!

Too late now.  So a stop on the flood bank instead.

Morning tea on the stop bank at Otokia. (Clive pic and caption.)

Many gates on the way made for frequent stopping, opening and closing. Along with the level terrain. these rest opportunities  enabled everyone to complete the distance.

The lunch stop at Lenny Miller’s worked out more happily. On a lawn! A close-knit hedge sheltered us from a cool wind that had come up from behind us.

Lunch on lawn, courtesy Lenny Miller. (Ian pic and caption.)

Then it was on to Allanton. The leaders had warned about long grass to wade through, but as it turned out a top-dresser truck had just preceded us on that morning, and flattened an easy route for us instead.

Looking North along the stop bank towards Saddle Hill. (Clive pic and caption.)

So we reached the Allanton Bridge. Distance being  7.75 km by Nike app or 8.9 km by  a steps app. But here, a second reece neglect. The leaders had not checked whether there was a gate available across the road to enable continuing along the flood to the sale yards. Discussion. Eventually it was decided to walk down, under the bridge back up on the other side. Apparently there was some electric fencing to encounter. This writer, being a driver, was driven back to collect his car and meet up with his passengers at the sale yards. From there, we went on to ‘coffee’ at the Topiary Cafe. – Ian.