#78 of 100 trips for 100 years - Head of Race (Whare Flat) 12 August 2023

 

There was always going to be a good chance that most of us were going to get wet feet but getting them wet within the first five minutes of starting was a bit much for most of the 10 people who knew straight away that the water was deeper than the top of their boots.  Most bravely gritted their teeth and waded across the ford with the icy cold water quickly making it's way into boots, and emerging on the other side with feet that felt like they were encrusted in blocks of ice.  Walking was the only option to warm our feet  so when we came to the second river crossing, everyone (unsurprisingly) opted for the bridge. 

After the bridge, the track was easy to follow as a muddy trail through the long grass before reaching the turnoff to the lower weir.  As the weir is part of an historic water race with nearly 30km of water races built in 1877 until the 1960's, the weir is looking a little neglected with parts of it missing.  Since most of the group already had wet feet, they waded through the second crossing without a thought while a few others tried to walk over the weir, although the missing parts were daunting and made for a long jump. 

After the second river crossing, the pace picked up in an effort to warm the feet again and we wandered through an open grassy area before heading back into the native bush.  The track to Powder Ridge is muddy in places and marked with some tree fall but nothing that couldn't easily be negotiated. We stopped at the Powder Ridge turn off to refuel before continuing on for another 100 metres or so and another stream crossing - just as our feet were starting to feel warm again.

Once the 40m of height was gained to reach the water race, it was reasonably easy as we followed the water race for another 2km's to the top weir.  The track is wide and easy to follow with the overgrown water race on the right and a steep drop down to the Silverstream river on the left.  Along the way we were able to see how dilapidated the water race is with minor slips and broken pipes showing how much work it must have taken to keep the water race in working order.

After a couple of kilometres of this easy walking along the water race which generally drops 1 inch in 16 feet, we reached the top weir. We had been here back in April and it was interesting to see how much more water was flowing over the weir.  The noise of the water over the weir is quite loud in the narrow confines of the valley  where very little sun reaches at this time of the year.  

Reaching the top weir was the halfway point in our trip and we retraced our steps back along the water race for about a kilometre till we reached a dry, sheltered spot on the track that was wide enough for all of us to sit and chat while eating lunch.  As often happens in winter, once stopped it doesn't take long to cool down and as soon as lunch was eaten, it didn't take much encouragement for everyone to be happy to continue on our way. 

We had the option of making the trip longer at the McRaes Weir track junction but the unanimous decision was to take the shorter route so detoured the from water race and dropped 60m down to Silverstream.  After about a kilometre we came to another track junction with some in the group opting to take the dry route over the bridge while those of us already with wet feet happily took the river crossing option.  

The final kilometre was an easy walk that gave enough time for feet enough time to warm up again before reaching the car.  An enjoyable walk on a colder winter day with over 14km of walking in 4 hours.