#35 of 100 trips for 100 years - Mt Charles 4 March 2023 (by Jade Pettinger)

Today’s trip to Mt Charles/Poatiri had been highly anticipated and I was thrilled to see the weather forecast improve over the week. Mt Charles is the highest point on the Otago Peninsula at 408m but can only be accessed by crossing private land. Thankfully a friendly landowner granted access to the OTMC for this trip so 10 of us gathered at the club rooms ready to “knock the bastard off”!

Arriving at Papanui Inlet we were all exclaiming that despite being the highest point on the peninsula, it really didn’t look too steep… boy were we wrong! We started heading up a gravel farm road which started out as a gentle climb but somehow kept getting steeper and steeper. Barely 15 minutes in and we had already gained 100 metres in height! The lungs were certainly feeling it but the view provided us with plenty of reason to stop and catch our breath.

Before long we were crossing the halfway point, which also signalled a change from gravel farm roads to paddocks. Mt Charles towered above us as we had a quick drink and stripped off layers, however we were pleased to see there was a zig-zag track to the top so we didn’t have to scramble straight up the side. While we still had another 200m to climb, the terrain wasn’t as steep and we made good time towards the top.We reached a small flat area just below the summit just as the cloud was beginning to roll in.

The views were fantastic, especially looking down over Victory Beach which we visited on trip #024 to Victory Beach and the Pyramids in January. A quick break to snap a few pictures and devour a square or two of chocolate was taken. Hastily we set off in an attempt to beat the worst of the weather to the summit to avoid a repeat of the 2020 trip to Mt Charles, where the only view they saw was of the inside of a cloud.

Waterproof layers were quickly donned by most of the party as we picked our way up to the rocky outcrop and trig that marked the summit of Mt Charles. The rain and cloud had well and truly arrived so after a quick team photo we retreated to a small cluster of trees which reminded us of a fairy grotto. It was fairly sheltered here so we enjoyed an early lunch break whilst keeping our fingers crossed that the weather would clear before we headed back down.

Emerging from our fairy grotto we were delighted to see the clouds had rolled away and the view had opened up again. The panoramic views in all directions were breath-taking - from the inlets and sandy beaches of the peninsula to the distant hills of the northern skyline. The wind was fierce and a little chilly as we began our descent back down to sea level.  A mixture of the recent rain and the steepness of the terrain made the descent a little slippery in places. We were pretty chuffed to arrive back at the cars in just under 3 hours, having successfully summited the highest point on the Otago Peninsula. 

by Jade Pettinger