#13 of 100 trips for 100 years - Complete Northern Skyline, Bull Ring to Organ Pipes 27 November 2022

The day was warm when eight energetic trampers took on the challenge of walking the Complete Northern Skyline which links Flagstaff, Swampy Summit, Mt Cargill and Buttar's Peak over seven tracks from the Bull Ring to the Organ Pipes. Starting with a steep up hill climb up the well graveled track to the first 'summit' of the day, Flagstaff was a good way to get the lungs working and also a taste of things to come. Taking about half an hour to reach Flagstaff, we stopped for a chance to catch our breath and take in one of the views of the city.  

It was only a brief stop before we continued on our way along the graveled Pineapple Track before taking the shortcut in the dip to the Fire Break Track and then turning right to head towards Swampy Summit.  From a distance, looking at the skyline, this part of the track appears reasonably flat but in reality is anything but flat.  There is about 100m drop along the ridge before the slope steepens and  gains 160m of height to Swampy Summit.  While the walking is easy along an old, overgrown four wheel track, the last 1.5km of track is a relentless climb up  to Swampy for a well deserved morning tea break.

At 739m Swampy Summit is our second summit of the trip and is also the highest point on our journey.  It offers stunning views of Blueskin Bay, Warrington and up the coast to Karitane and Huriawa Peninsula.  Our ultimate destination of Mt. Cargill, which still looked to be quite a distance to go, attracted our attention and after refueling with a drink and snacks, we headed down the Leith Saddle Track which we had walked down two weeks ago on #9/100 trips.  This track is steep in places and drops around 300m through tussock before entering native forest and eventually emerging on the side of the Northern Motorway. 

We regrouped to safely cross the Northern Motorway and enter the Cloud Forest of Leith Track.  The track winds it's way through native bush for 600m to a large outcrop of boulders with a good look out over the Northern Motorway and Swampy Summit.  Here was a good lunch spot where we were entertained with jokes from Emilie, who at 8 years was the youngest member of our group. 

Lunch was over too soon and we headed back into the native bush to follow the track through remnants of a cedar forest and over a small creek continually making our way up hill until we reached the power lines. From the power lines we entered another track, the Escarpment Track and this is the most challenging of all the tracks.  The Escarpment Track is a basic track with tree roots, fallen logs and small creek crossings.  It is barely maintained with a lot of regrowth obscuring the track and ankle deep mud.  The condition of the track made for slow going with most of us having some blood drawn from encounters with bush lawyer and scrapes with branches hidden amongst the ferns that hid the track. After a climbing 150m from the power lines we reached the obstacle of Pigeon Rock which required a scramble and well placed tree to reach  great views looking towards Swampy Summit and around to the northern Silver Peaks, Mt Watkin and the Kakanuis being visible in the distance.  This was another perfect place to stop, rest and have a drink.

From the top of Pigeon Rock we entered the edge of the pine forest and encountered some of the muddiest part of the track yet (and that is saying something!).  It's a short, sharp climb up to Pigeon Hill then across the pine plantation to Cowan Road.  The pine trees have grown quite high since I was last here and it is impossible to see ahead very far so we wandered, what felt like aimless circles, around the pine trees in an easterly direction until we reached Cowan Road.  Now that the hard part was done it was a reasonably fast walk up Cowan Road to the AH Read track which took us to our third summit, Mt Cargill. 

We could see the end was close so down Mt Cargill to the turn off to Buttar's Peak.  Ignoring the 'no exit' sign we clambered up the rocky outcrops of Buttar's Peak for another stunning view, this time of the harbour. Buttar's Peak is often overlooked as most people head to the higher Mt. Cargill or the more famous Organ Pipes but the interesting rock formations of Buttar's Peak are well worth taking the time over.  We continued over the top of Buttar's Peak, effectively making this our forth summit, to rejoin the Mt Cargill track. 

Once onto the well graveled Mt Cargill track we followed the ridge to the Organ Pipes which are jointed columnar basalt.  There are lots of  'pipes' to scramble over, however there are still plenty standing further up the hill, looking very much like the pipes of an organ.  The 'pipes' are scattered throughout the surrounding bush with the uniform dimensions and unusual shape offering the opportunity for some great photography without too much effort.  We didn't have time to explore these unusual rock formations for long and reluctantly turned back onto the graveled track and a short  minutes down hill to the car park.

This trip is one I have always enjoyed as it traverses the city skyline over a variety of terrain from well graveled tracks through to challenging overgrown bush with plenty of mud.  The views are spectacular in all directions and really show what a beautiful city Dunedin is and how lucky we are to have such easy access to the surrounding hills.  Total distance walked was 17.5km taking us 7 hours 5 minutes. 

#12 of 100 trips for 100 years - Tomahawk to Highcliff 26 November 2022

This day trip is one that was first completed by the Otago Tramping Club on 6 October 1923. 99 years later, a group of 8 OTMC members met to recreate this early OTC trip, which is predominately a road walking trip over what would have been gravel roads and is now sealed. Starting at the old tram terminus (junction of Silverton, Highcliff and Tomahawk Road), we followed Tomahawk Road around to the Andersons Bay Cemetery where we took a detour through the cemetery before rejoining Tomahawk Road to cross the bridge and then take another detour onto Tomahawk Beach.

With the tide out there was a large strip of exposed sand and very few people which made for very pleasant walking. All too soon the beach came to an end and we headed up through the soft sand dunes to the Ocean Grove playground, where we again rejoined Tomahawk Road and then onto Centre Road. Now the fun part began as we started the steady climb up Centre Road. There was much to see on Centre Road, from admiring the old stone cottage, marvelling at the windswept trees, checking out the sections for sale, patting the horses and looking behind at the vast ocean. 

It's a climb of about 200m over nearly 3km and with very little traffic we were able to walk and chat in pairs and in small groups which made the climb pass very quickly. Once we reached the top of Centre Road and onto Highcliff Road we were rewarded with our first views of the Otago Harbour. We spent a few minutes looking across the harbour to Signal Hill and the Burns Reserve which is where we'd been nearly a month ago for trip #4/100 trips. 

A short walk along Highcliff Road and we took another short detour up the hill to the Soldiers Monument with panoramic views of the harbour, Mt Cargill, Dunedin City and Saddle Hill. It is not often that there is no/very little wind at the monument and we made the most of this rare opportunity by having a break and refueling with snacks and a drink. From the Soldiers Monument it is all down hill, following Highcliff Road back to the junction with Silverton Street and Tomahawk Road, where we had started 11 km and 3 hours earlier. 

Despite being a road walking trip, it ticked all the boxes 

• great social trip by being able to walk and talk with others more easily on a sealed road 
• wonderful views of our harbour that are often only glimpsed when traveling by car 
• exercise with a 200+m climb and time to notice things we'd not seen before 
  

 

#9 of 100 trips for 100 years - Pipeline Track - Rustlers Ridge - Swampy Lagoons - Leith Saddle Walkway 13 November 2022

The weather forecast was for afternoon rain so it was pleasing when 10 of us arrived at the Leith Saddle Walkway carpark in sunshine and warm temperatures. Leaving the carpark we followed the Waitati Valley Road for about 500m to the Pipeline Track and from here it was a nice easy stroll for about half an hour following the pipeline which traverses around the same contour line to the Rustlers Ridge track. The pipeline once supplied water to the Northern suburbs of Dunedin. Once at Rustlers Ridge the track makes a sharp turn up the hill with a steady climb on a well-defined and sometimes steep-sided ridge through the native bush. We stopped for a brief rest and drink at the edge of the bush where we had uninterrupted views of the Silver Peaks including The Gap, Pulpit Rock and Rocky Ridge. This is the area that we had been walking two weeks ago on trip #5 of 100 trips for 100 years.

After our rest, we continued up Rustlers Ridge and onto Swampy Summit where we noticed the clouds were starting to obscure the sun and the temperatures were cooling. Not to be deterred we left the track to wander over the peat bog that has formed a wetlands in a hollow on Swampy Summit. It is an interesting area covered in subalpine vegetation, bogs and tarns and is not often visited as there are no tracks through this fragile wetlands.

Heading in an Easterly direction it didn't take long before we came across the first of the tarns. It's hard to judge the depth of the tarns as the water appears black. We found a number of black tarns varying in size. Thankfully the weather had been good over the past few weeks and the peat bog surrounding the tarns was not overly wet which made for pleasant walking.

The peat bog is very different to the surrounding vegetation and is a fascinating place to explore. The area of peat bog surrounding the black tarns is reported to have been where Moa gizzard stones were found in the late 1800/early 1900's. Sadly we didn't find any gizzard stones but this might have had more to do with the fact that none of us knew what a gizzard stone looked like. The colours of the vegetation in the peat bog surrounding the black tarns is quite stunning ranging from bright green through to yellow and orange

We could see the clouds were getting darker and the wind was picking up so we didn't linger at the black tarns as long as we would have liked and we made our way through the scrub towards the telecomunication tower. This proved to be tricker than first thought as the scrub was much denser than where we had entered the bog and some of us emerged dripping blood after doing battle with the scrub. Sheltering behind the telecomunication building to eat lunch and clean up some of the battle wounds, we were well aware that the weather was changing rapidly. We were chased down the Leith Saddle Walkway by a cold wind and the first few drops of rain. Traditionally the views from the Leith Saddle Walkway are worth taking your time over but today our main intention was to beat the rain so we powered down the hill, stopping only briefly at the lookout and reaching the road and carpark about 4 hours and 11km after leaving. We couldn't have timed it better as the rain arrived just as we were driving out of the carpark.

#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.

#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.

#5 of 100 trips for 100 years - Silver Peaks - The Three Ridges (Yellow-Rocky-Green) 30 October 2022

I was more than happy for a break to rest and refuel at the Phil Cox Hut after a fast descent from Mountain Road carpark down the Tunnels Track to the Waikouaiti River and a very quick ascent up 250m to Phil Cox Hut by the 10 enthuasitic trampers who had turned up for a day tramping in the Silver Peaks. We had taken a photo of the team at the start, all looking fresh and eager for the day's walk. I wasn't feeling so fresh or eager after an hour of fast walking to get to the Phil Cox Hut.

Once we'd all had a chance to top up the energy with a snack we headed along Yellow Ridge at a slightly slower pace. I found this part of the trip interesting as I reminised over the changes of Yellow Ridge over the past 35+ years. Yellow Ridge was once an open yellow tussocky ridge with great views all around. Today the views are still there but I'm not sure for how much longer. The ridge today has a narrow band of yellow tussock but is mostly scrub. Yellow Ridge is now becoming more green than Green Ridge.

It was another 1.5 hours before we reached the turn off to Rocky Ridge which is not obvious and required a bit of bush bashing for the first 50 or so metres until the feet found something that resembled a track. It was impossible to see my feet due to the waist/shoulder high tussock so I just trusted my feet to keep to the track which was not always the case and there were frequent times when it took some scouting around to find the track again. This is the part of tramping that I enjoy, getting off track and relying on instinct to keep me heading in the right direction.

The group stayed close together and once we found a large rocky area about half way along Rocky Ridge we stopped for lunch. Rocky Ridge has also changed a lot over the past 35+ years since the stock has been taken out of the Silver Peaks Reserve. Previously Rocky Ridge (like Yellow Ridge) was open tussock and you could walk at will down any of the adjoining ridges - not any longer, it is fast becoming overgrown with scrub. Lunch was an enjoyable rest with expansive views of the Silver Peaks and surrounding hills.

All too soon lunch was over and our journey along Rocky Ridge continued. There are a few hilly parts of Rocky Ridge that I had forgotten about and once we reached the Hermits Cave turn off the track became more obvious. We stayed on Rocky Ridge and passed the Cat's Teeth which are always an interesting part of the ridge with the track weaving it's way between the large rock tors. This part is very different to any where else on Rocky Ridge.

Once we reached the end of Rocky Ridge and were onto the main Silver Peaks track it was a quick descent to Green Hut Site for another refueling stop and the final hour's walk out to the cars. Thankfully the final hour's walk was not as fast as the first hour and we arrived back at the cars 16.5kms and 6 hours 50 minutes after starting, looking tired, scratched and happy to have completed one of the classic routes in the Silver Peaks

#4 100 trips for 100 years - 29 October 2022 Signal Hill to Ravensbourne (by Jade Pettinger)

This is my third trip of the 100 trips. Being a Saturday afternoon trip I wasn't sure how many people would be on the day walk and was pleasantly surprised to have a 23 other people join me on a short afternoon walk around the Burns Reserve in Signal Hill. The Burns Reserve borders private property and having permission to cross the private property to make a round trip was the most likely reason that so many people were keen to join the trip. A long line of people left the Signal Hill lookout and crossed the fence to follow a faint trail through the native bush of the Burns Reserve. There were a few tree roots to negotiate along with some bush lawyer and some slippery mud. We passed quite a few traps which were doing their job because there was bird song in the bush.

After the native bush we passed through a small section of pine trees then followed a fence line to a gate with a 'No trespassing - Bull in paddock' sign. This is where we crossed onto private land and were a bit cautious as the paddock with the sign had a number of cows, although there were no bulls in sight.

After passing through the gate we made our way across the paddock and over another fence that lead us up to Gerry's rock where we were rewarded with 360 degree views over the harbour, peninsula and towards Mt. Cargill.

We could have spent much longer here but the farmer had arrived to escort us through the rest of his paddocks and down the hill to the road which we followed along till we reached the Logan Park mountain bike tracks. We followed the walking track up the hill back to the Signal Hill monument. All up the trip was around 5km and took a little over 2.5 hours. 

Written by Jade Pettinger