#16 of 100 trips for 100 years - Tunnel Beach 8 December 2022 (by Jade Pettinger)

 

This day trip was in place of a club Thursday night talk and is part of the 100 trips because the third weekend of the Otago Tramping Club in 1923 included two trips from the St Clair tram terminus to Blackhead via Cargill’s Castle. Similar trips appeared sporadically through the trip programme up until 1983, but urbanisation and more private owners of the land now make the original trip impossible and hence this trip was added to the 100 trip list.  

Being a windy evening and with the threat of rain, it was very heartening to see 19 people turn up at 6pm for the 1km wander 150m down the hill to Tunnel Beach. It was a reasonably fast walk down with a short stop for a team photo.

 The magnificent sculptured sandstone cliffs and arches provide a stunning backdrop for the turbulent waves that slam into the cliffs.  It's an impressive place to be to see how ferociously the waves are thrust into any small crevices in the rock, creating a larger crack which eventually breaks off from the main cliff.  There was plenty of evidence of the power of the water with large slabs of sandstone littering the base of the cliffs and  billowing plumes of water crashing into the rugged cliff face.

Turning our attention away from the surging sea we descended the 72 steps down the hand carved tunnel that gives Tunnel Beach it's name.  The tunnel was commissioned by a local politician, John Cargill  in the 1870's for his family to access their own secluded beach near the family home of Cargills Castle.  The tunnel is sloped and steep but easy to navigate and at the bottom we were rewarded by being able to see up close some of the large sandstone boulders that had fallen from the surrounding craggy cliffs. The boulders are a variety of  shapes and sizes with most being easy to clamber up onto. 

The tide was on it's way out so more sand was slowly being exposed and if you were quick, you were able to run around a small headland to a sheltered cave without getting wet.  A few people were not quite as quick as they should have been and ended up with wet feet. The cave is also a favourite overnight retreat for sea lions and some of our group were lucky to see one come surfing into the safety of the cave. 

All too soon it was time to retrace our steps back up through the tunnel and then continue following the track up the hill.  The climb up the hill was much slower than the descent but we all made good time, with only the occasional short rest and arrived at the cars about 1 hour after leaving.  

Written by Jade Pettinger

#15 of 100 trips for 100 years - Leith Saddle - Morrison Burn 4 December 2022

With the promise of good weather and even better views, 11 people enthusiastically started the 300m slog up the Leith Saddle Walkway towards Swampy Summit.  The first part of the track is benched and graveled and while it makes for easy walking, it is also the steepest part of the uphill to the lookout.  Maybe I am getting fitter with these 100 trips or maybe it was the good company and conversations but the walk up didn't seem to take long or feel too difficult.  A quick breather and we continued up the hill with the gradient relenting slightly as the track climbed out of the bush and into the tussock.  This gave us the opportunity to have short stops and look back at the view of the coastline from Blueskin Bay to Karitane as it opened out behind us. 

Having walked down this track last week, I had been apprehensive about the 300m climb today but the walk up the hill was pleasant and I enjoyed seeing the views from a different perspective. About an hour after starting we were at our highest point, Swampy Summit for a drink and snack before taking the turn off to the Power Line Track and then onto the Morrison Burn.  This is the part of the trip that I was most looking forward to as I have never been down either of these tracks.  At first the Power Line track is enjoyable as it is a wide, slightly overgrown grassy four wheel drive track with good views looking towards the city. 

As we descended downhill, the broom and gorse started to encroach onto the track and we were forced to wind our way between the head high  bushes before turning onto the Morrison Burn track as we entered the native bush. This is where the track changes becoming steep and muddy in places.  It was a game of slipping and sliding down the slippery track and over tree roots seeing who can stay on their feet, although there were plenty of trees to grab and hold on the way past. After about half an hour of this slippery fun we emerged onto Leith Valley Road where it was almost a let down to then walk the 2km up the gravel road beside the motorway to Sullivans Dam where it was a unanimous decision to stop for lunch.

Sullivans Dam is a Dunedin City Reservoir nestled amongst native forest.  Today the dam is only a back up water supply for the city, however when it was open in 1916 it was a main supply for the rapidly growing city.   The reservoir has a number of popular walking tracks and is stocked with trout and is a good place for families to come and learn to fish.  It was a perfect spot for us to spot a few birds, watch children learning to fish and look across the reservoir to the hill we were going to climb next. 

Shouldering our backpacks, we completed a half circuit of the reservoir to The Cloud Forest of Leith track -  a track that we had walked the top part of on trip #13 last Sunday.  The 150m climb to the rock outlook took about 35 minutes and, despite being a little muddy was easy to follow.  The reward of reaching the rocky outcrop was being able to see the whole route that we'd walk today, from starting at Leith Saddle Walkway, Swampy Summit, the silhouette of the power lines on the skyline, Leith Valley Road and Sullivans Dam.

The last part of the trip was reasonably straightforward being down the hill with only a little mud to emerge form the bush onto the side of the motorway and back to the cars after 11.8km and four and half hours after starting. 

#14 of 100 trips for 100 years - Hawksbury Lagoon and Waikouaiti Beach 3 December 2022 (by Jade Pettinger)

What had started as a beautiful sunny Saturday morning had turned to some light rain as we 

headed to Woodhaugh Gardens for Trip 014, an impromptu Saturday afternoon trip to 

Hawksbury Lagoon and Waikouaiti Beach to make up for the cancelled Routeburn in a Day 

trip. As the clock ticked closer to 1pm, we were starting to think it would just be the three of 

us when Lindsay pulled up. We bundled into the car and headed north, our spirits lifting as 

the weather improved the further out of the city we got. 

Four of us quickly turned into six as just as we locked the car and were heading down the 

track Tina and Laurence turned up. We set off to Hawksbury Lagoon from Scotia Street 

North in Waikouaiti, crossing the unusual land bridge whilst happily chatting away. 

It soon became apparent that Hawksbury Lagoon was a bird watcher's paradise and we were kept thoroughly entertained as we wandered through the lagoon. There was an abundance of Black Swan/Kakīānau, and we were delighted to see some cygnets (baby swans) bobbing around the place. Other highlights included Royal Spoonbill and Plovers, the photographers in the group spent a great deal of time capturing the winning photo for the ‘Flora and Fauna’ category of the photo competition. 

Before long we arrived at the northern end of Waikouaiti Beach and were soon making 

good time along the beach. We were relieved at the lack of wind, which combined with 

the firm sand made for easy walking for the 4½km to the southern end of the beach. 

The next 45 minutes or so passed quickly as we walked along chatting. 

The sun had started to peek through by the time we reached the southern end of Waikouaiti 

Beach, opposite to Karitane. The crazy ones amongst us enjoyed some time paddling in 

the cold sea while the more sensible ones stayed firmly on dry land. Having stood at 

Karitane multiple times looking over the channel to the beach, it was really cool to be on 

the other side. While we were enjoying some jet planes (thanks Lindsay) we saw two 

figures approaching in the distance and soon were joined by Barry and Helen. 

With the thought of another long slog along the beach ahead of us, we decided to be 

adventurous and head back along the beach on the inlet side. This soon turned into quite 

the workout as the sand was incredibly soft and each step took immense effort. The rest 

of the group quickly learnt to follow in the footsteps of the first person which made their

 journey much easier - not so much for me in the front! 

Once it became apparent that the beach was running out and would no longer be a viable 

option, we went bush to try to find our way back to the main beach. Although we all started 

out following Antony, we somehow ended up going our own ways as we battled the head 

high grass. Thankfully we all made it safely to the beach and regrouped for the last few km 

back to the road. 

Having refueled on jet planes and with good company the walk back whizzed by and in no 

time we were at the road. A quick 1km or so up Beach Street to where we left the vehicles 

and we were soon headed back home. It was a really enjoyable Saturday afternoon trip to 

somewhere I hadn’t been before. We covered 11km in just under three hours, slowed down 

a bit by the soft sinky sand at the southern end of the beach but a great afternoon out 

nonetheless. 

written by Jade Pettinger 

#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.