#6 of 100 trips for 100 years - Day Trips from Omarama 5-6 November 2022

This trip has been run by the OTMC twice before (2008 & 2010) both lead by me so it seemed fitting that I lead it again. As it turned out, we couldn't stay at the Omarama campground where we had stayed the last two times as it was badly damaged by flooding in the winter so we changed to the Lake Ruataniwha Holiday Park near Twizel. As it turned out Ruataniwha was a great place to be based with lovely spacious cabins and the lake only a 5 minute walk.

It was a good start to the weekend waking to clear skies and birdsong on Saturday morning. After checking what each of the 5 different parties were doing, a group of six of us set out for Ben Ohau via Greta Track. Arriving at the Ben Ohau carpark we regrouped and walked about 5 minutes along the road to Gretas Stream where we followed an old four wheel track as it climbed through the green paddocks. It was surprising how quickly we gained height and the views of Lake Ohau started to open out.

It is important to note that the four wheel drive track branches off to the right just before reaching the fence on the shoulder of the hill. From here the track becomes more interesting as it winds it's way up, following the creek. The track is easy to follow with the occassional patches of bush to provide some shade and crossing the river a number of times. Getting wet feet with the river crossings was compulsory as the water was above the knee for all but the last crossing.

By following the creek, we were slow to gain height but this only added to the enjoyment of the trip with changing views as we rounded each corner. Behind we had glimpses of Lake Ohau and the hills sorrounding the lake while in front the higher we climbed the more the valley opened out to rolling tussock hills.

It was sad to see the wilding pines starting to make their way this far into the hills. There was a short but steep section of track just before leading to the ridge where we were rewarded with expansive views looking towards Twizel and Lake Ruataniwha with the winding blue canals snaking their way through the McKenzie Country.

From the ridge, it looked as though we had done about half of the climbing we needed to reach the summit of Ben Ohau. The walking from here was not difficult as we followed an old four wheel drive track that wound it's way along the open ridge and around the side of Ben Ohau. The track was a constant gradient and not overly steep but by now we were out in the open sun and the temperatures were rising. It was about half way along the ridge to Ben Ohau that a halt was called for a lunch stop.

Once we had refuelled with lunch the rest of the walk up Ben Ohau didn't seem to take long and we were at the saddle where we turned off the four wheel track and headed up beside an old fence to the top of Ohau. While there was a definate trail up this part it was more of a rock scramble and required some concentration over the rocky parts. This is the fourth time over the years that I have been to the top of Ben Ohau and each time it's always been a scramble up this part but today it didn't seem so bad as there is a clear trail to follow. The climb has become very popular judging by the number of people we saw on this part of the trip. Once the summit is reached, the views are spectacular in all directions.

Once at the top it was compulsory photos as well as topping up with a drink and some lollies before heading down and down it was, all 1000m to the bottom. The track we took down the hill was a zig zag down the front face of Ben Ohau and while it wasn't overly steep it was a constant pounding down the hill. It was becoming quite hot and with no shade, whatever water that was left in the waterbottle was soon gone and on we went until, eventually the bottom of the hill and the cars were reached. From the bottom, it was good to look back up at Ben Ohau. A great round 18.5km round trip with just over 1000m of climbing.