| Group | Leader | Mentor | Tailender |
| Standards | Brent | Alan H | Judy R |
| Alternates | Kiwan | Pip | Mark T |
Stats: distance 9.5km, ascent 650m, time 4hrs 30mins
It was on a low cloud morning with fresh easterly winds that a small team of 30 that included new BTC member, Jenny M, and 2 welcome visitors, Stella P and Matthew, departed from Yaldhurst with bus driver Peter.
President Jen encouraged trampers to find some new recruits among friends and family to spend a day with BTC to experience what the club has to offer as bus numbers have been low. Bookings are now open for the Xmas lunch so please book to allow the Adventure Park to know the number they are catering for.
There were some road works but thankfully only one temporary traffic light before our toilet stop in Hororata. I find it amusing that the very smart corten steel sign depicting flora and fauna lets us know we are in Hororata but it is attached to a drab concrete block wall on a building needing some tender loving care. To the left is Carol’s Closet. It looks rather spooky so my imagination runs wild wondering what might happen behind the second-hand clothing racks. To complete the scene there is one dog and a woman with a cylinder on her back spraying the garden which contains approximately 4 plants and a few rocks.
On the final shingle section of Algidus Rd before the carpark, thick dust starts permeating the bus making it very unpleasant for sensitive airways.
At 1030 now with a promising blue sky, 21 Standards closely followed by 9 Alternates set off across the grass paddock of cows and their calves, breathing in the rural aroma of manure perhaps hoping if they breathed deeply it might clear the dust from their sinuses. This paddock is deceptively steep and most are puffing a little as they negotiate the 2 stiles leading to the next steep poled section through tussocks and scrub face. There are dainty yellow buttercups and pockets of spaniard grass to avoid.
Relentlessly up up up it is a relief when finally at 1140 it is time for the Standards’ morning tea on a ridge line with great alpine views. We are feeling satisfied we are now over half way to the summit.
With the weather now heating up under a clear sky, we continued steadily upwards through rock outcrops and were rewarded at 1230 with the sight of the cairn on the broad summit at 1240 meters. A better lunch spot would be hard to find with views over Lake Coleridge, the deepest lake in Canterbury, the Wilberforce and Rakaia Valleys and snow on the foothills with the Southern Alps in the distance. The blue of the lake was such an intense blue it is hard to describe but almost the colour of my sun hat which I have always considered too bright but a stunning colour for a lake.
A display panel at the summit informs us that Peak Hill was once an island surrounded by the Rakaia Glacier on one side and the Wilberforce Glacier on the other. At the height of the ice age Peak Hill was topped by glacial ice. When the ice age ended the glaciers melted and the rivers flowed in their place. The rock material was deposited and this moraine now forms the hummocky landscape we see today.
After lunch we head right over uneven ground with no defined pathway but a few small cairns, ably led by Brent and Alan who knew to follow the fence line. The views on this section are mind boggling as you are facing the mountains with the lake to the right and the braided Rakaia River to the left. All good things come to an end and when we turned left to follow the fence line at the bottom, we now had the very tedious section to negotiate through dry bracken, matagouri and squelchy muddy patches. Finally, it is time to turn right and cross the paddock again arriving back at the bus at 1500.
The Alternates had been safely back for at least 30 mins. They had endured plenty of up up up carrying on past the Standards’ morning tea spot to the base of the final climb to the summit before returning by the same route negotiating the steep descent without injury.
Peter placed a towel at the back door of the bus on our return journey as he thought this was where the dust was entering………. very high tech. Conclusion, these buses are not made for shingle roads.
We were back at Bishopdale by 1700 now with those incredible views to call upon any time we are despairing with what is happening in the world.
Text by Kate
