Black Hills 29th Nov 2009

Black Hill (2067m) 29th Nov 2009

Where was everybody on this fine Sunday? (Possibly watching rugby? PK)

Two of us (N Climo, leader, S Sheen, party member) left Hororata at 7:30 am, after waiting for the non-existent rest of the club to reach us from Yaldhurst, drove to close to the quarry at Redcliffs Stn and began walking at 8:45 am.  

We went via the Black Hills Station musterer’s hut (available for hire, $50/night, 5 bunks, gas supplied, and quite habitable), cadged a drink from the 4 cyclists in residence and began the climb in earnest.  The going was good (green line on map) and we reached the top at 12:45, for a well-earned half hour lunchtime.  Views from Mt Cook, Arrowsmiths, head of Rakaia peaks and L Coleridge area were superb.

For a bit of variety we bum-slid the snow patches and followed the stream down (yellow line on map) until the waterfalls made the going a bit slow, before heading back to the ridge, now quite steep, and not probably the best going apart from the fact that we were able to visit the only beech tree in the area, where we were given flying lessons by a New Zealand falcon.

 We found a different route through the matagouri back to the car, which we reached by 3:45pm, just 7 hrs from our start.

Not a very demanding or excessively long trip, grade 4, but a fair bit of up-hill work.
Permission required from Duncan Ensor of Black Hill Station, ph 021 855 014.

(Scribe Stephen Sheen)