#95 of 100 trips for 100 years - Nicols Creek to Pineapple Point by night 28 September 2023

The trip tonight was a change from our usual day trip as 12 people gathered at the Nicols Falls car park at 7.30pm for a moonlight walk.  We headed up the wide Nicols Falls track for about 7 minutes to the gorge  which is popular for glow worm viewing.  The damp air from the creek and the narrow, fern covered walls of the gorge are a haven for glow worms.  Sadly we were a little early as it was still too light for the glow worms so we ventured into the gorge further, keeping dry feet as we crossed the creek and spent 15 minutes eagerly watching the gorge walls, waiting for the mysterious glow worms to reveal themselves in the gathering gloom.  From the gorge we retraced our steps a few metres back down the track before turning off onto the track that wound it's way up hill, through the bush to Pineapple Point

Those that had the foresight to bring head torches turned them on and up the hill we continued, stopping every so often to keep the party together and ensure that no one wandered off at any of the track junctions that we passed.  On up the hill we went, through a grassy clearing and back into the bush, scaring a pig happily rooting in the undergrowth until we came along and off along the track it raced, disappearing into the dark once it reached the end of the light from our torches.  After about an hour of magical walking by torchlight where our focus was as far as our torches would light or, for those without a torch,  the pair of feet directly in front of us, we emerged out of the bush onto the Pineapple Track and made the short detour to Pineapple Point where we were rewarded with wonderful views of the city by night.  The lookout at Pineapple Point is the perfect place to lookout with the lights of the city strung out before us and the full moon overhead.  

We spent some time here, admiring the view before the cold wind drove us down the Pineapple Track into the shelter of the trees.  Not wanting the night to end too quickly, we took the McGouns Track, continuing our walk through the bush, lit only by our head torches.  Once back to the road, it was an easy 1km road walk back to the cars.  Everyone agreed that it had been a fun 2 hour, 6.5km walk in the moonlight and one they would happily repeat.

#85 of 100 trips for 100 years - The Catlins (short trips) 27 August 2023

 

The weather today was a complete contrast from yesterday but that didn't deter the 9 people who were keen to explore some short walks in The Catlins.  We made the 2 hour drive south to the McLean Falls which was the first of our short walks.  The temperature was very cold with evidence of a recent hail storm lying on the sides of the track so we donned jackets for the 20 minute walk to the falls.  The bush in The Catlins is beautiful rain forest with the trees dripping water and moss with the track being wide and graveled making for good walking beside the river.  Near the end of the track there are a number of steps that take you to McLean Falls.

The 22m McLean Falls are one of the more spectacular falls in the area and we spent some time here, taking photos and marveling at the sheer power of the water cascading over the falls.  While we could have stayed longer, we had other walks to do so with regret we headed back to the cars where our next stop was the Tautuku Estuary Walk which is a short 30 minute return walk that follows an old sawmill track through native podocarp forest.  We found the information signs dotted along the track telling us a little of the history interesting and before long we were onto the boardwalk that took over the mudflats, through the coloured jointed rush/oioi to a viewing platform in the middle of the estuary. 

We were encouraged by the blue sky that was trying to make an appearance and we enjoyed the calm and peace of the estuary.  Aware that time was getting on, we retraced our steps back to the cars and crossed the road to the Lenz Reserve which was once a sawmill site and was purchased by Forest & Bird in 1964.  Today the front part of the reserve has information signs and some historical relics from the sawmill days while the majority of the land has been left to regenerating native forest with a couple of tracks following old tram tracks. 

We opted for the short nature walk, saving the longer tramway for another day.  The bush walk was interesting as it followed the tram line up the hill and through a number of cuttings before coming to the track junction that designates the shorter nature walk.  It was about now that the fun really started with a loud noise as the it started to hail, with the large hail piercing the upper forest canopy.  As we were about half way through the walk, there was nothing we could do, except keep going.  The hail got larger and heavier as we continued walking and didn't start to ease off until we reached the end of the nature walk, changing instead to rain. 

The rain got heavier as we raced back to the cars and then drove to the Florence Hill Lookout for lunch.  The wind was blowing and the rain was still heavy so we opted for lunch in the car.  Unfortunately it appeared the rain had set in for the day so the decision was made to cut our day short and head home.  Despite not getting to complete all the walks we had intended, the day was still a lot of fun and we managed to get most of the short walks in, leaving a few meaning a return visit is needed. 

#8 of 100 trips for 100 years - Craiglowan Falls & McQuilkans Creek 12 November 2022

The steepest part of the trip was the first 15 minutes as we left the Bull Ring and headed up the Fire Break track. In the winter this familiar track can be muddy and slippery, however at this time of year it is hard and dry which makes for easy walking. Eight of us regrouped at the turn off to the Big Rock track and from here the track looks to have been recently cut as it winds it's way through the lush, native bush. Apart from the odd rock and pig rooting, the track is easy to follow and heads quite steeply down the hill to Big Rock which is exactly as the name suggests - a BIG rock. Back in the pre-1960's, Big Rock was popular for rock climbing with the OTMC. It was at Big Rock that we had some of the best views of the trip, looking over the Silverstream area, towards The Chalkies and Silver Peaks. Today Big Rock is surrounded by bush making it hard to guage the size of the rock and there certainly is no rock climbing here anymore.

After a short stop at Big Rock we found our way down, around the side of Big Rock before discovering that this was the end of the wide, recently cut track and from here we were following a faint trail down hill. Coming across the odd mud puddle was reassuring as it confirmed we were following the trail until about halfway down the hill we must have taken a wrong turning because there was no more trail and we were literally bush bashing our way down the hill, clambering over rocks, ducking under branches, getting tangled in vines and running into the odd patch of bush lawyer.

After nearly an hour of this enjoyment we emerged onto the gravel of the Flagstaff-Whare Flat Road, slightly scratched but still in good spirits. After a brief stop for a drink and snack we had an easy walk down the road to the forresty road, Sanatorium Road which is the site of the first sanatorium in New Zealand. Established in 1899 it accommodated up to 10 patients at a time suffering from consumption and other tubercular diseases. There is nothing to see here now so we continued along Sanatorium Road until the turnoff on the right down the hill to McQuilkans Creek. Again it's a steep descent but with plenty of trees to hold onto it didn't take long for us to reach the creek and our objective of finding the Craiglowan Falls. The rocks were slippery as we crossed the creek a couple of times but eventually we rounded the corner and were rewarded with a view of the not often seen Craiglowan Falls.

We enjoyed a rest and photo opportunity here before slipping and sliding our way along the creek, climbing around large rocks and generally trying to avoid falling in as the rocks were very slippery. There was the occassional wire across the creek to help keep us on our feet but over all I was glad of my walking pole to help keep me upright.

After about half an hour of this fun, the track turned off onto an easy four wheel drive track that resembled a grassy meadow in parts. We passed some beehives and arrived at a gate. It was a bit disconcerting to see the 'No Entry' sign prohibiting access to where we had just walked down. Oh well, there had been no sign at the other end of the track so we ignored the sign and climbed over the sty onto the Whare Flat Road.

Now the third part of our walk began as we walked along the Tunnels Track which followed the old Silverstream water race. At one time the water race supplied water to the growing town of Dunedin. It was quite a fast walk along the track for a couple of kilometres as the track follows the contour of hill before heading down hill to Silverstream. Just before the downhill section, the team called it time for a lunch stop and we enjoyed a half hour sitting and chatting while eating lunch. Spurred on by promises, from our leader Ash, that the car was only 15 minutes away we didn't linger too long over lunch and were heading down hill at a good pace. After crossing the Silversteam, we reached the cars in 12 minutes from our lunch stop. All in all a fun 8.5km walk in just over 4 hours.