Silverstream Water-Race, Racemans, Top Weir

No. 40 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Silverstream Weir. Racemans. Winefields. Year Round”
No. 107 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Whare Flat – Silverstream Weir Year Round “

20. 11/01/2023. Racemans Circuit, Trampers. Grade 4 (regraded 3 – see below). Leaders: Neil Hodgkin, Julie MacKenzie.

Trampers: 10 women, 4 men
Weather: Low cloud, drizzly, calm, 16 degrees
Track: 14 kms, 3.5 hours walking and 170 m height gain.
A good, mainly flat walking surface, the odd muddy patch, and sometimes short, sharp, steep, descents/ascents in and out of side creeks.

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Striding out at the start of Raceman’s (photo and caption Pam)

Several crossings of the Silverstream and even though the flow was low, care was needed and poles were helpful with slippery and unstable rocks.
As a first up tramp for 2023 it was great and a very suitable tramp for the weather conditions. In the bush there was no precipitation and no wind. We had the usual stop for smoke-o …

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Morning tea at the junction with Tunnels track (photo and caption Pam)
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Abandoned water pipe on track (photo and caption Pam)
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Strange objects in several places along the track. Much speculation about what they are/were. No conclusions. Any ideas? Feel free to use the Comments section at the bottom of the page. (photo and caption Ross)

…and got to the weir about midday…

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Silverstream top weir (photo and caption Ross)

…but decided to move on down the track for lunch where it was less noisy.

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Lunch taken between intermittent light drizzle (photo and caption Pam)

On our return I as leader came face to face with six barking and not so friendly dogs who were eventually followed by a female runner who didn’t seem to worry. She said that the dogs were barking because we had sticks, but I didn’t believe her. What goes up must come down so we were expecting their return and when we heard them approaching we all stood off the track, sticks by our sides and gave them a TRTC guard of honour!

Grading: The grade of this tramp is solely dependent on the flow and depth of the Silverstream. The way it was on Wednesday, I’d put it at 2.5 – 3, but with more water it would certainly be a 3 -3.5 I think.

Neil.
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Tunnels, McRaes, Racemans, Top Weir, Silverstream – Information and Trips Library

Scope:

This page of club tramps and hikes in the Whare Flat area groups together trips within the Silverstream catchment and includes Racemans, Tunnel Gully, Powder Creek and Chalkies.

Background Information:

Road distances from Mosgiel carpark.
Racemans Track, Weir, Origins.
Whare Flat School and Surrounds History.

Links to tramps and hikes in this area:

14/08/2024. Tunnel Gully, McRaes, Racemans, Powder Creek Detour. Trampers.  Leaders: Phil Keene & Gary Mort.
26/06/2024. Whare Flat, Waiora, Schoolhouse, Tunnels Track, McRaes Weir, Racemans. Hikers. Leaders: Bruce Spittle,  Adrienne Ensor.


Pump House, Tunnels, McRaes Weir, Racemans, Return (2004 – 2020, 10 trips with 6 reports).
Schoolhouse, Tunnels, McRaes Circuit (1989 – 2019, 9 trips with 6 reports).
Silverstream Water-Race, Racemans, Weir (1992 – 2023, 21 trips with 6 reports).
Tramps Associated with the Whare Flat Schoolhouse (1995 – 2017, 5 trips with 3 reports).
School House, Tunnels, McRaes, Steve Amies, Whare Flat Road Return. 2007 (1 trip with report – no photos)

Pump House, Tunnels, McRaes Weir, Racemans, Return

10. 30/9/2020. Trampers. Tunnel track/ Racemans return. Leaders Gordon Grant and Arthur Heenan
Because of snow on the  Maungatua the days tramp was diverted to Whare Flat where 9 hardy trampers set off up Tunnel track to Mcraes Weir then turned left until arriving at Racemans track.

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