#15 of 100 trips for 100 years - Leith Saddle - Morrison Burn 4 December 2022

With the promise of good weather and even better views, 11 people enthusiastically started the 300m slog up the Leith Saddle Walkway towards Swampy Summit.  The first part of the track is benched and graveled and while it makes for easy walking, it is also the steepest part of the uphill to the lookout.  Maybe I am getting fitter with these 100 trips or maybe it was the good company and conversations but the walk up didn't seem to take long or feel too difficult.  A quick breather and we continued up the hill with the gradient relenting slightly as the track climbed out of the bush and into the tussock.  This gave us the opportunity to have short stops and look back at the view of the coastline from Blueskin Bay to Karitane as it opened out behind us. 

Having walked down this track last week, I had been apprehensive about the 300m climb today but the walk up the hill was pleasant and I enjoyed seeing the views from a different perspective. About an hour after starting we were at our highest point, Swampy Summit for a drink and snack before taking the turn off to the Power Line Track and then onto the Morrison Burn.  This is the part of the trip that I was most looking forward to as I have never been down either of these tracks.  At first the Power Line track is enjoyable as it is a wide, slightly overgrown grassy four wheel drive track with good views looking towards the city. 

As we descended downhill, the broom and gorse started to encroach onto the track and we were forced to wind our way between the head high  bushes before turning onto the Morrison Burn track as we entered the native bush. This is where the track changes becoming steep and muddy in places.  It was a game of slipping and sliding down the slippery track and over tree roots seeing who can stay on their feet, although there were plenty of trees to grab and hold on the way past. After about half an hour of this slippery fun we emerged onto Leith Valley Road where it was almost a let down to then walk the 2km up the gravel road beside the motorway to Sullivans Dam where it was a unanimous decision to stop for lunch.

Sullivans Dam is a Dunedin City Reservoir nestled amongst native forest.  Today the dam is only a back up water supply for the city, however when it was open in 1916 it was a main supply for the rapidly growing city.   The reservoir has a number of popular walking tracks and is stocked with trout and is a good place for families to come and learn to fish.  It was a perfect spot for us to spot a few birds, watch children learning to fish and look across the reservoir to the hill we were going to climb next. 

Shouldering our backpacks, we completed a half circuit of the reservoir to The Cloud Forest of Leith track -  a track that we had walked the top part of on trip #13 last Sunday.  The 150m climb to the rock outlook took about 35 minutes and, despite being a little muddy was easy to follow.  The reward of reaching the rocky outcrop was being able to see the whole route that we'd walk today, from starting at Leith Saddle Walkway, Swampy Summit, the silhouette of the power lines on the skyline, Leith Valley Road and Sullivans Dam.

The last part of the trip was reasonably straightforward being down the hill with only a little mud to emerge form the bush onto the side of the motorway and back to the cars after 11.8km and four and half hours after starting.