Taieri Recreational Tramping Club

No. 60 on old hardcopy list of 113 club tramps. “Lawlor Farm”

Closed for lambing Sept-Nov.
50 km from car park.

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14. 18/4/2018. Trampers. Welshs Road, Old Farm, Deep Stream, Weir. M. Leader: Keith and Arthur.

It was a beautiful autumn day as 14 trampers travelled for about 40 minutes, out past Clarks Junction to Welshs Road.

The cars were parked by the woolshed near Deep Stream on Steve Nichol’s farm. We all had to sign the visitors book on arrival, for “elf and safety” reasons.

The sun was lovely, but the breeze was decidedly cool, as we made our start.

To be different, the leaders had planned on a clockwise circuit, and also climbing uphill through the paddocks to extend the distance.

The steeper beginning warmed all the participants nicely, before having morning tea in the head of a gully – somewhat sheltered from the breeze.

Continuing up through the paddocks the scenery was magnificent wherever we looked. At the highest point of our day we came back to Welshs Road. The wind was keen here, but there was a good view over to the Lammermoors – the “ship at anchor” was visible.

Now it was downhill all the way to Deep Stream, road at first and then following the farm’s boundary fence.

The “Te Papanui Conservation Park” was just over the fence which we had to climb through at the last. The views looking down in to Deep Stream were great as we descended to the weir.

Time for some photographs …

… before walking the 4W.D. road above the stream.

Near the mouth of Deep Creek we stopped for an early lunch on a long table thoughtfully provided. A nice spot in the sunshine, and ideal for the occasion.

The 4W.D. road was up and down a bit, but took us back to the cars, after having walked 9.8 km.

All agreed that the walk down through the Deep Stream gorge, below the weir, was the highlight of the day. It had been another very successful and happy day’s tramp for our group.

And so back to Outram, to stop at a the ‘Goat’ for water, food, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cold beverage, etc (tick the boxes applicable please). – Art.

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13. 17/2/2016. Hikers. Welshs Rd, Old Farm, Deep Stream, Weir. M. Leaders: Bob and Peter.

The leaders considerately stopped the cars about 3k short of the old farm house to give some level walking to those who didn’t wish to tackle, beyond there, the climbs over the three steep ridges on the way into the weir. (As matters turned out, they did tackle a further climb or two after all.) We all stopped first, a kilometer or so along the road, for a cuppa.

Eight of us went on  to reach reached the barb-wired locked gate, (some getting further)!

En route, (whoops, too many ‘en routes’), we passed a couple of bee hive sets of frames, with Betty getting stung several times from one of them. Happily Lester was there to help remove the bees and their stings.

On our return, we stopped in the a patch of shade for lunch.

The day grew warmer but fortunately not nearly as exceptionally hot as it was a fortnight ago. We enjoyed a brief cooling passing shower when getting close to the cars on our return.

The ridges are getting higher and steeper than ever to climb over and the tramp extension by the extra three or so kilometres gap between cars and house wearied this reporter a bit but for the others it was a breeze. A good day out. A good reminder of a tramp the club has enjoyed many times before. – Ian.

12. 23/4/2014. Hikers. Welshs Rd, Old Farm, Deep Stream, Weir. M. Leaders: Peter and Wendy.

A good memory is an attribute we came to wish we collectively had more of. Driving down Welshs Road, we  made two false stops before plucking up enough courage to take our cars yet further on to the actual Holiday Camp yards. (However, from recollection (what’s that again??) the “Both” 8/2009 group [indicated below] walked virtually the length of Welshs Rd just to reach the HP, well-notified on its gate).

Well, we eventually made it there by car and walked on and up a bit to stop for our morning cuppa.

After that stop, taken briefly because of a strong cold wind at the time, memory let us down again. A few recalled the road had several ups and downs in  it, but the road that we then took led us only up and up and up. After some confused conferring, with nervous hope of finding the right way, we retraced our steps back down the way we had come, to a gate just adjacent to our morning tea stop. Soon the reassuring ups and downs emerged, and a morning tea spot taken on an earlier tramp confirmed we we on track. (See Trampers 11/2009 for the morning tea break pics)

However the earlier uphill foray had served to discourage four of our 22-strong group from further uphill struggles and they returned to the cars. That was too bad. But eighteen still persisted.

The stream views were most rewarding. The view of the Deep Creek (exit/entrance?? – well, confluence, then) into Deep Stream looked better from an angle different from that of a pic below taken on an earlier trip.

 

A locked gate (part of which can be seen at the right in the pic below) just prior to the weir proved a further deterrent, and only five persisted beyond it. On rejoining the other twelve they found them already getting into their lunch. It was the right time too.

We straggled back to the cars in a long drawn out string of ones and twos, but all eventually made it, to unsurprisingly  find the earlier four long gone.

Then it was only for a dwindling ten (did Elaine deliberately hide herself behind Pat?) of us to reunite at the No 8 w Herbs cafe for a drink of …

… – you’ve guessed it – coffee, not to mention a tasty treat of chips and dips, courtesy Elaine. – Ian

This was a tramp that most of the 9 that turned up had never done before.
We walked up the gorge all the while looking down to Deep Stream to see if we could find a more interesting walk than on the road with it’s quite steep climbs. Once again most of the ones who are going on the Motatapu trip next week were carrying their big packs with some weight in them.
We found some nice rocks to sit on for morning tea …

… at the top of one of the hills we had to climb, so we got a good view of the countryside. Then it was further into the gorge, until we arrived at the weir.

After a look around there, & a drink to freshen up …

… it was decided that we would go up the steep road opposite to where we were sitting, & walk back through the paddocks. George & Rea both remembered doing this in earlier times, so we set off, & headed away from the gorge up into the paddocks where we split up a bit & had lunch in two groups. Then it was down a gravel road that George assured us we would find, & back a short distance to the cars. The stream looked inviting, as it was a reasonably hot day, without a cloud in the sky, but nobody was game to get wet !!
After examining some peoples’ packs, & the way they were wearing them, we had an adjustment session to see if we could improve the fit for one member of the group, & I’ll also be looking at mine before next week, as it seems to be sitting too low on my hips.
We are becoming the Coffee Club No. 2 as we once again called into Outram for a chat over a cuppa on the way home, although Rea, & Hazel walked  all the way around to the Berry Farm shop for a Yoghurt Ice Cream !!
Everyone agreed that it was a good walk with interesting scenery along the way. – Ken.

10. 25/11/2009. Trampers, with a lot of Hikers! Deep Stream Holidays.  Pipeline Road. Deep Stream Weir. Easy+. Leaders: Bill and Pat.

It was 10.00 a.m. before our cars reached the Deep Stream Holidays Park. So we walked on along the pipeline road before stopping for a delayed morning tea in a sheltered corner of the road.

The road wound on up and down as the pipeline followed up beside the stream.

A point of interest was to see the Deep Creek confluence point with Deep Stream.

Eventually we arrived at the weir.

We climbed the steps from the weir to the road above. Some of us found a way up to the rock looming behind.

From the rock buttress, we had a grand view of weir and dam.

On the way back, Bill pointed out a rock wall built by Chinese goldminers to divert the stream.

9. 5/8/2009 Both. Welshs Road, Deep Stream, Lawlors Old Farm now Deep Stream Holidays. Easy+. Leaders: George, Bev.

8. 14/4/2004 Hikers. Deep Stream. Lawlors Old Farm. Easy+. Leaders: Joyce , Jim & Thelma

7. 15/5/2002 Alt. Deep Stream, Lawlors Old Farm. Easy. Leader: Mary L, Margaret and Les.

6. 23/9/1998. Lawlor Farm, Deep Stream. Leaders: Mary L, Sabina.

5. 25/9/1996. Deep Stream from Rocklands Station to Dam. Leaders: Jack M, Diana and Ray

4. 10/5/1995 Lawlor Farm. Medium. Leaders: Peg C, Mary L, Sabina, Diana W

3. 2/12/1992 Welsh Road, Deep Stream, Lawlors Farm. Average. Leaders: Daphne, Peg A, Peg C, Peg M

2. 25/4/1990 Welsh Road, Deep Stream. Great tramping area. Easy+. Only one small hill. Leaders: Mary Y, Diana B, Hugh D, Betty B

1. 1/2/1989 Deep Stream. Rocklands Station. A long but not difficult walk. Follow pipeline to dam. Leaders: Daphne, Denise, Mary

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Background information on Salisbury property

10. 10/1/2018 Hikers. Taieri River view lookout. E. Leaders: Doug and Ian.

Twenty-one Hikers turned out for the first tramp of the new year, parking the cars at the lay-by on Taioma Road beside the entrance  to the Taieri View Road. This tramp was to differ markedly from the last one we had done back in 1915.

First, a couple of the private forests along the forest road on the left had been ‘harvested’, as they say, the first one now replaced with paddocks.

Second, the former FWD track was now a road, much more heavily metalled and heavily dented by the double wheels of forest trucks carrying heavy loads.

And third, road’s end was now in the middle of the branch-and-trunk-strewn cleared second forestry. No longer a gentle grass-covered FWD track ending in a rough honeysuckle and gorse encroached track. A shock. A big shock.

Yes, the shocking new way of getting to the lookout was to have to pick our way through a debris of tangled branches down along a left-leaning bench-sort-of-slope that was marginalised by a messed-up fence line on  the right and a steep fall-off on the left.

The goal ahead of us was to be a line of small Manuka and gorse bush, a middle part of it dead. Just where the dead changed on its right to the dark green, the leaders knew to be the sturdy post at the end of a fence, alongside which was the track down through to the lookout. This they had found only after well over half an hour’s reconnoitring the previous week.

Seventeen of us reached the lookout unscathed by the sharp-ended broken branches we had to negotiate, with four electing, a short distance in, to prudently head back and wait for us near the safety of the road.

At the lookout, despite some reluctance to leave the wonder of the view,

but it being still only eleven o’clock, we eventually turned back to retackle the cleared (??) forestry slope.

This time, with leadership guidance no longer needed to find a way, a wonderful variety of routes back up to the road were found.

Back right up near road’s entrance, we stopped for lunch under power lines with the cleared area affording us a pleasant view.

Along the short distance of Taieri View Road, and out onto Taioma Road, and leaving our parked cars on our left, we headed down the road to a gate onto Salisbury property. We headed down through a couple of paddocks,

the route getting steadily steeper until its very steepest part got us down to the relief of the flat. Many elderly knees didn’t enjoy that last part one bit.

A nice flat lane led us to the wonderful restored stone cottage where we stopped to again admire the beautiful work done to it both inside …

… and out.

Then out to Wairongoa Road where two shuttle cars  ferried drivers back to their cars in the lay-by to allow everyone to return home, some by a coffee break en route.

The day was cloudy and not too hot. Just right.

The normal route would have both started and ended on Wairongoa Road, the tramp beginning with the steep climb through Salisbury paddocks to Taioma Road, morning tea half way up, and lunch at the lookout. All agreed however that through a car shuttle saving the Salisbury paddocks for just a return downhill journey and for a shorter first tramp of the year was the way to do it. – Doug and Ian.

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9. 26/7/2017. Trampers.  Showgrounds, Taioma Rd, Taieri flood views. Leader: Eleanore.

Walked all but 17km and averaged 4.8km an hour.
We drove and parked at the Showgrounds.  Ten of us were eager to get out for a walk without rain.  We headed up Taioma road and had smoko at the bottom of the hill.  Then a steady uphill climb took us to the Taieri View sign, a few stops along the way were had to look at the flooding of the lower Taieri (which occurred after heavy rain on Friday and Saturday). Also, picking out landmarks and where some of us live on the Taieri.

We turned left at the Taieri View sign, then veered left again onto a Forestry road that took us to where trees had recently been milled. Looking across farmland, down to the Taieri river, cleared forest and 4 goats grazing in the distance we enjoyed the vista while eating lunch.

After lunch we walked back to the junction and decided to carry  on down the road that we veered off, where we were looking further down the Taieri towards Henley at the floods.

Once we headed for home, it was down hill all the way to the cars.  We parked  back at the car park and strolled round to Blackstone where we enjoyed coffee and cake.
The weather was calm and mild, which made our outing most enjoyable. – Eleanore.

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8. 2015 Aug 26. Hikers. North Taieri Church, Salisbury and Taieri Lookout. Leaders: Pam, Dawn.

Where to start with all the happenings in this report? Well, first, when the cars arrived at North Taieri Church some of the Brighton people failed to turn up. It transpired, as was later report, their car load turned back to just walk around Mosgiel on seeing the “Road Closed” Taioma Road notice. Twenty of us set of along and up…

…the Salisbury farm paddocks to emerge onto Taioma Road just above the zig-zag and stop for morning tea on the road edge,

nicely sheltered from the cold southerly.

Incident two. After we had trudged up the road to the Taieri View side road, we looked back to see a small group stopped back down the road. The leaders went back down to find that Peter B. was experiencing one of his very occasional breathless spells (his last one, this report recalls, was on Traquair, but that time he recovered to continue afresh again.) Cell phone arrangements were made for a one of the leaders’ spouse to drive up and take Wendy and Peter back down. This was satisfactorily achieved.

Incident three. John had driven up to meet us at the side road turn-off. But under the unwise earlier advice of this reporter, had parked just beyond the turn-off at the edge of a logginh-truck lay-by  area, but had been reprehended by a logging driver for possibly impeding their movements, so got his car neatly parked in the side road.

Incident four. Keith espied a cast sheep in the paddock over the road. Mastered the barbwire fence and righted the sheep which staggered, trotted, ran off. Bravo.

On up the road, into the forestry road

and down,

steadily down

to the river look-out rock. The bold (reckless?) stepped out onto the large rock to admire the view, the timid (prudent?) stopped well back from the intimidating drop.

Lunch,

snugly tucked in among grass and gorse against the wind. The leaders shortened the lunch-stop for fear of approaching rain but it failed to eventuate. In fact, sunshine and the climb back out proved a even a bit over-warming.

Incident five. Back at Taioma Road, Mollie and George graciously accepted the invitation of a ride back in John’s car.

Incident six.. Trudging back down the Salisbury paddocks, someone remarked that Dot (of the returning car, alas) had intended sharing her big-birthday chocs with us. Sigh.

Next a stop at Mr McElwee’s beautifully restored cottage, an eye-opener for some of our newer members. Then out to the cars where we were found a cheerful Peter waiting to greet us, none the worse for his setback earlier. Relief all round! Then off to Topiary for some for their accustomed coffee fix.

A great day out, with Salisbury’s steep paddocks testing breathing on the way up and knees on the way down. A day full of interesting incidents. A tramp very well led by Pam and Dawn. A good day. – Ian.

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7. 2013 Apr 3. Both. North Taieri Church, Salisbury and Taieri Lookout. Leaders: Fred, Ian.

 We started out from beside the North Taieri Church, numbering 20. We admired some black sheep along the way. Mollie pointed out that the hill ahead was Vaughan Hill, once owned by her late husband’s parents. We admired the restored stone cottage, of course. Mr McElwee had determined on everything being authentic to its old age, including …… donated from the Vaughan farm. We then set about climbing the hill ahead, this time via  a gentler track (only slightly) from around its back. At a water trough, well up the hill, we stopped for morning tea and to admire the view, and to increase our number by Lex arriving down from his car parked in Taioma Road. Light rain came on, and so did our parkas. By the time we arrived at the “No Exit” entrance to Taieri View Road we found our numbers had dropped to sixteen, five opting to seek car and home rather than carry on in the rain. On taking the forestry road turn-off, some found water off the wet grass soon got into  wet boots making for a gentle sloshing sound as they moved. But we carried on to successfully reach the Taieri River lookout, and return up that steep part o the track at its end to lunch under the shelter?? of some forestry pines. It was at this point that we had reached the dispiriting point for many. We found we had only  exchanged the fine rain outside for large forestry drops that soon soaked any part of us that was not already wet. And here any respect for the leadership vanished. It wasn’t too long before the leaders discovered numbers had now dropped to four, the rest having returned up the track to shorten what had turned into a miserable experience as quickly as possible. The leaders caught up briefly at Taioma Road, only to see the majority head off down to make a road-walk, regardless of traffic,  back to the cars. This left the leaders now with a group of only six, who returned back down through the Salisbury farm the way we had ascended, for a grand meet-up with those under their care back at the cars. So all’s well that ends well, perhaps. – Ian.

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6. 2012 Jun 13. Trampers. North Taieri Church, Salisbury and Taieri Lookout.

Relying on Ria’s memory to guide us, 7 of us did the more extensive Salisbury walk,
which took us climbing, climbing to join the Taioma road at the very top.

Then we had to make our way back around Taioma road to get back down to Taieri View Road. We tried to avoid the road, busy with fast, heavy rumbling logging trucks, but paddocks proved eventually too boggy.

Shortly into Taieri View Road, we stopped for a late lunch. At this point George didn’t want to go any further, so he and his car-load took the short way back to his car. The remaining trampers made their way on down the forestry track turn-off from Taieri View Road to the Lookout. The track was much more overgrown and forestry-shaded than when the writer remembered it. However this gave us good shelter from the blustery cold wind that made itself felt when we emerged out onto the Lookout.

We were lucky with the weather, which held off till we reached the car. A good tramp for a cold-weather day. The tramp also had a sentimental side, as it was the last day Linzi was to be with us, before departing back home to Cornwall three days later, after tramping with us for a whole year. Farewell, Linzi. – Ian.

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5. 2009 Apr 8. Hikers. Taieri View, Mount Allan Road. Medium. Leaders: Chris, Dot B.