#100 of 100 trips - Five Summits (Mt Kettle / Mihiwaka Area) 15 October 2023

 

After 99 completed trips, today marked a significant milestone in the #100 trips for 100 years with the completion of the 100th trip.  The trip had originally been touted as 5 summits in 5 hours with 25 people so we arrived at the start of the trip with high hopes and were pleasantly surprised to find that there were indeed 25 people keen to experience the Cedar Creek Farm area and reach the summit of 5 peaks in 5 hours.  Starting up the four wheel drive track it is a steep 1km walk, gaining 100m in height to the reservoir where we regrouped for some brief instructions on where we were headed.

After the discussion about not following the trapping tracks we headed off into the pine plantation towards  Mt. Martin which was the first, and lowest of the five peaks at 478m.  We only had a modest 60m in height to gain to reach the summit of Mt. Cutten which involved a stroll through the trees.  Walking was easy as there is little/no undergrowth under the pine trees and the ground is a carpet of soft pine needles with the odd fallen branch to step over.  It is hard to know when you are at the top of Mt. Martin as it is covered in trees and the only view is glimpsed through the branches. The only way we knew we were at the top was because there was no more uphill to go and so it was also the place to take our first summit picture - always a little difficult to take a team photo with so many people.

From Mt.  Martin, we headed off towards our next summit- Mt. Cutten which is a little higher at 538m.  We dropped off the summit of Mt Martin slightly and followed the contour until we reached a turnoff at the edge of the pine trees.  This lead to a short but steep climb to the broad summit of Mt. Cutten from which we were able to get great views looking down onto the township of Port Chalmers and further down the harbour towards the city.

 

We carried on from the summit of Mt. Cutten for another five minutes to the Len Lye sculpture where we stopped for a short snack break and also our second summit photo which was even more difficult  than the first as there isn't a lot of space for so many people.  

After replenishing the energy levels we headed for our third summit - Mt. Kettle at 545m.  While Mt. Kettle is not a lot higher, it involves a 140m descent down Mt. Cutten and then a160m climb up Mt. Kettle.  First though we had to retrace our steps down the steep climb then through the pine trees, crossing below the reservoir before a sharp ascent that involved using trees and brute force to pull oneself up the steep incline to the summit of Mt Kettle.  During this ascent, a shower of rain came over making most in the group stop to put on their jackets with a hardy few carrying on regardless. By the time we reached the top of Mt. Kettle the shower of rain had passed and we were able to enjoy the views from the top along with a short break for lunch. 

From Mt. Kettle we could look back towards the two lower summits that we had already climbed and also towards our next summit - Mt Chalmers at just over 450m.  We headed along the ridge of Mt. Kettle before dropping down into the pine trees again, crossing the forestry road and climbing up out of the trees, onto a scrubby flat.  As there is no track to Mt. Chalmers, we had to detour from the track once we got close, briefly bash through the bush then a scramble up to the rocky summit of Mt. Chalmers. 

The views in all directions were stunning and made the awkward scramble to the summit worthwhile. This being trip #100, it was fitting to look in all directions and pick out natural landmarks that had been part of the #100 trips and remember some of the many trips we had been on over the past year.

We could have spent much longer on top of Mt. Chalmers but after taking the summit photo, it was time to head towards our final summit - Mihiwaka. 

At 561m, Mihiwaka is the highest summit in the Cedar Creek Farm area and is also a popular rock climbing area. While the climb to the broad summit of Mihiwaka is straight forward with an easy track, the rock climbers prefer the steep, rocky sides lower down.  Having completed all five summits with 25 people, we took some time to celebrate the milestone of completing #100 trips, even more meaningful for the five people who had been on the trip #1. 

To complete the trip, we headed off down the side of Mihiwaka, dropping 200m down a very steep track that involved quite a lot of clambering down tree roots, hanging onto branches and generally trying to stay upright by clinging to trees before finally arriving slightly disheveled at the road.  All up, it had been a fantastic day with 8.2km of walking by 25 people completing 5 summits in 5 hours - a fitting way to complete the #100 trips.  Our mission 365 days ago was for the Otago Tramping & Mountaineering Club to complete 100 trips in a year and we were ecstatic  to have completed all 100 trips, albeit with a couple of destination changes due to weather.  Certainly an achievement to be proud of and for myself personally, I have completed 84 trips out of the 100. 

Day 116 Port Chalmers & Careys Bay

Today was a longer walk as I combined finishing the streets in Port Chalmers with walking the streets in Careys Bay.  I walked 22 streets today

1561. Bernicia Street
1562. Bellevue Place
1563. Fox Street
1564. Meridan Street
1565. Harrington Street
1566. Laing Street
1567. Burns Street
1568. Daly Street
1569. Mount Street
1570. Church Street
1571. Ajax Road
1572. Borlases Street
1573. Blueskin Road
1574. Kohi Place
1575. William Street
1576. Coombe Hay Terrace
1577. Harbour Terrace
1578. Cemetery Road
1579. Willmott Street
1580. Slant Street
1581. Henry Street
1582. Macandrew Road

 

My walk today took me over the top of the hill at Port Chalmers, although I did have to walk up and down the hill a couple of times as I walked each street completely.  

The houses on the streets that I was walking today were positioned on the hill so that they looked either towards the harbour or towards Mt Cargill.  Today the harbour was calm with great reflections of harbour cone. 

Mt. Cargill has dominated the view in many parts of the city that I have walked although I haven't seen it from this angle before.  Mt. Cargill has the transmitter on it with Buttars Peak beside it and Mt Holmes further along.
 

Port Otago is obvious from most streets in Port Chalmers.  I have been able to see the crane gantries and ships or hear the noises from the port during my walk of the streets.

Having seen the Iona Church from most parts of Port Chalmers, this is as close as I got to walking past it.  Built from Port Chalmers Blue Stone and Oamaru Stone, Iona Church was built in 1872 and is still used for services today.

After walking past Iona Church, I continued walking up the hill behind Port Chalmers.  This was a great place to be able to see the streets that I have been walking.  It is always a good feeling looking back and knowing that I have walked every street that I can see.

As I walked further up the hill, I crossed the railway line.  I have been around this railway line many times during my challenge to walk every street.  From here I had beautiful views looking down the harbour towards the city and closer are the houses of Roseneath.

Eventually I walked all the way to the Robert Scott Memorial Lookout.  The views from the look out are fantastic and I was able to see most of Port Chalmers, both Goat and Quarantine Island in the middle of the harbour and harbour cone on the peninsula behind. 

I was also able to look down onto the port with two container ships.  It was fascinating to watch the gantries and straddle carriers moving about, lifting and loading containers.  From this height everything looks small, however I remember how big and high the rows of containers were when I was walking down near them.

 

Built in 1913, the Scott Memorial commemorates the ill-fated Scott expedition that left Port Chalmers for Antarctica on 19 November 1910

Also at the site of the Scott Memorial is this large iron anchor from an unknown sailing ship that often got caught in local fisher nets, it was hauled ashore in 1978.

From the lookout, I took a track past the Port Chalmers cemetery to Careys Bay which is the next bay around from Port Chalmers.  The streets of Careys Bay are steep and the houses are nestled amongst native bush.

Most of the houses in Careys Bay have a view of the marina and habour.  Today the habour was calm with no wind and it was a beautiful place to be walking. 

 

Careys Bay is also close to Port Otago.  It was easy to see from this angle how much the port dominates the area with the containers stacked high.

Once down from walking the streets on the hill, it was nice to be beside the sea and watch the boats bobbing on the harbour while I walked back along the road around the bottom of the hill.

 

One of the lovely old buildings I walked past today is the Chick's Hotel beside Port Otago.  Built in 1876, Chicks operated as a hotel and more recently a music venue until it closed in 2016. 

The Careys Bay Hotel was another historic hotel that I walked past today.  Built in 1874 from Port Chalmers Blue Stone, the hotel has been continuously serving alcohol and today is a popular seafood restaurant particularly during weekends.

Another historic building that I walked past was the old Port Chalmers School.  There has been a school at Port Chalmers since 1856 on various sites.  This school building has been turned into a home.

 

I walked past the memorial to where the local Ngāi Tahu sold the Otago block to the New Zealand Company in 1844.

I have often driven past this large tree that has grown beside the road.  The footpath goes around the tree and it is obviously a notable tree but there was no plaque or sign to say why. 

 

The bus stop at Port Chalmers is painted to match the suburb with a boat, the harbour and Mt. Cargill as the main features. 

I walked past three interesting letterboxes today.  The house shaped letterbox was similar in shape to the house that it belonged to and the castle letterbox looked nothing like the house that it belonged to.  I thought the anchor letterbox was very appropriate for the home it belonged to - near the sea.

 

And finally, below is the map of the streets that I have walked in Port Chalmers and Careys Bay as well as Sawyers Bay and Roseneath. 
 

 Distance walked:  10.9 km         Walking time  2 hr 3 mins    

Total distance: 960.5  km          Total walking  179 hr 11 mins 

Day 114 Port Chalmers

As I walked the streets of Port Chalmers, I was able to watch as a large container ship being loaded in Port Chalmers tonight. I walked 10 streets tonight.

1539. Currie Street
1540. Scotia Street
1541. Aurora Terrace
1542. Kaio Lane
1543. Island Terrace
1544. Campbell Buchanan Lane
1545. Constitution Street
1546. Grey Street
1547. Magnetic Street
1548. Mary Street

During the first part of my walk I was able to look over to the historic Iona Church on the hill opposite. The Iona Church was opened in 1872 and is made from Port Chalmers Blue Stone and Oamaru Stone.

As I walked to the top of the hill overlooking Port Chalmers, I was rewarded with a great view of Goat Island and Quarantine Island.  Quarantine Island is the bigger island in the harbour.  Now a reserve and open to the public, the island was a quarantine station from 1863 to 1924.  When ships arrived into the harbour with infectious diseases, they stopped at the island to quarantine their passengers for a few weeks until they were no longer infectious.  In the 60 years the island was used, there were 9000 people quarantined and 70 deaths.  There is a small cemetery on the island.

Once at the top of the hill, there is a look out over the port where I was able to watch a container ship being loaded.  It was fascinating to watch the gantry cranes loading the containers into the ships and the straddle carriers moving around the port collecting containers for the gantries to load into the ships. 

From the lookout, I was able to see how small the township of Port Chalmers looks beside the huge container ship.  I could easily see the Iona Church and how the buildings cluster around the Port. 

The lookout also gave me a great view looking towards the harbour mouth.  This would be a great spot to be to see the ships arriving into the port. 

Further around the hill, I walked to the end of another street that gave me a great view of the other side of the port and I watched a forklift empty a wagon.  It was also a great spot to see how close the two islands are in the harbour with only a small opening for ships to travel down to Dunedin City. 

From the streets on top of the hill, I was able to look over other streets that I still need to walk as well as the street around the bottom of the hill that I walked yesterday. 

And then I was walking streets looking towards Mt Cargill in the distance.  I am enjoying walking in Port Chalmers as the views keep changing as I walk around the hill.

 

At the Port Chalmers lookout is the time ball that I saw while walking around the road the bottom of the hill yesterday.  The time ball is which has stood on this spot since 1867 with the ball dropping at 1pm each day so ships officers could set their  chronometers used in navigation.

 

During my walk tonight, I walked past the Hotere Garden Oputae.  Ralph Hotere was a Maori artist whose studio was on the point near the time ball, overlooking Port Otago.  When the port was expanded, part of the land was removed and in 2005 this garden was established in Ralph Hotere's memory.  There are a number of his sculptures in the garden.

 

I was surprised to find during my walk a number of conveniently placed seats that overlook parts of the port or harbour.  These are great places to stop and admire the view. 

 

Distance walked:  4.1 km         Walking time  49 mins   

 

Total distance: 942.3  km          Total walking  175 hr 46 mins 

Day 113 Port Chalmers

Today I started walking the streets in Port Chalmers where I walked 7 streets

1532. George Street
1533. Beach Street
1534. Peninsula Beach Road
1535. Victory Place
1536. Wickliffe Terrace
1537. Albertson Avenue
1538. Blundell Avenue

Port Chalmers is the main port of Dunedin and has a lot of history which I was able to see through some of the historic buildings that I walked past today.  It is in Port Chalmers in 1844 that  the local Ngai Tahu tribe sold the Otago Block to the New Zealand Company. 

 

A few years later in  1875, Port Otago was started and in 1882 the first frozen meat shipped from New Zealand to the Northern Hemisphere left from here.  Today the port is still very much a major part of the township and is evident by the main street ending at the Port Otago yards with the container cranes dominating the view. 

 

Very close to the town hall is where the first sailing ship, the John Wickliffe landed and the first settlers disembarked in 1848.  This building was built in 1888 and was not just the town hall but also home to the Fire Brigade, the Police Station (including the Sergeant’s residence and cells), Court Rooms, Customs Office and Government Shipping Office. There was also a morgue that occupied a backroom downstairs.  Today the bottom floor houses a public library and the top floor is available for functions.

 

Across the road from the town hall is the old Post Office built in 1877.  The building now houses the maritime museum. Collections at the museum cover commercial fishing, shipping, Antarctic exploration and social history.

During my walk, I crossed the Port Chalmers railway line which is the first railway line built in Otago in 1873.  The railway line goes through a tunnel to finish at the port.  This railway line is well used for taking containers and logs to and from the port to the city.  

The port is a busy place with containers and logs.  Today I didn't see any ships being unloaded but I was able to see the time ball on the hill overlooking the port which has stood on the hill since 1867 with the ball dropping at 1pm each day so ships officers could set their  chronometers used in navigation.  The time ball was used up until 1931. 

 

I walked around, past the port to Back Beach.  Back Beach is at the 'back' of Port Chalmers and isn't much of a beach.  It is more of a place to launch boats and has a number of boat sheds.

The view from Back Beach is beautiful looking across to Goat Island, Quarantine Island and the hills of the peninsula behind.  It is from here the water taxi leaves to make the journey across the harbour to Portobello. 

From Back Beach, the road winds it's way around the bottom of Port Chalmers, close to the water of the harbour.  This is a narrow, gravel road that is a popular walk for locals. 

This road is a good place to be able to see in both directions down the harbour. It also shows how narrow parts of the harbour are and why Port Chalmers is the preferred port for large ships. This pictures shows how close Port Chalmers is to Goat Island and then a small gap to Quarantine Island. The road I am walking runs around the base of Port Chalmers, close to the water.

I was able to look across to the hills of the peninsula and Harbour Cone which is the pointy hill on the right.  The houses below Harbour Cone are part of Portobello and are streets that I have not walked yet.

And then I was able to look down the harbour towards the city.  The habour really opens out the further you travel down to the city where it narrows again. 

As I rounded the corner and walked back towards the township of Port Chalmers, I was able to look across to Sawyers Bay where I had been walking yesterday.  I have walked all the streets that I could see. 

Then I was back into the streets with houses and I was able to look across to streets that I have not walked yet.  This is the area that I will be walking over the next few walks as I near the end of my challenge to walk every street in Dunedin.

One area I walked past was this spot where the steam ship 'Pride of the Yarra' sank in July 1863.  Thirteen people drowned here, including the first rector of the new Dunedin High School (now Otago Boys High School), Reverend Thomas Campbell, his wife and and five children who had just completed a 3 month journey from London.

On my walk around from Back Beach, I followed the Writers Walk which is a trail of 11 concrete plinths each bearing poetry written by a member of the Writers Group. 

I walked past two pieces of art today.  The first is huge and  is on the side of a Port Otago warehouse and is of a boat on the back of a whale which I thought was great.  I am not sure what the second piece of art is but it is interesting none the less.

This map shows the streets in Port Chalmers that I have walked are highlighted in red

Distance walked:  5.5 km         Walking time  59 mins   

 

Total distance: 938.2  km          Total walking  174 hr 57 mins