Middle Hill, Saturday 7 June 2025
Banner Photo: Tree ferns (Dicksonia Fibrosa) on the walk at Ball’s Clearing scenic reserve
It had already been decided to cancel the original tramp to Iron Whare because of recent rain and concern over the level of the river to cross.
The new plan was to tramp up to Middle Hill Hut. This was a good decision because there were at least five who hadn’t been there before. The group knew that there would be rain and snow on the tops of Kawekas so everyone was well rugged-up with raincoats, woolly hats and gloves.
The further we travelled towards the ranges, the stronger the rain fell. We could tell that there had already been considerable rain by the number of large puddles and gorges carved out by running water across the metal roads.
As we approached the ford, we stopped and quickly noticed the high water level (almost in the red zone) but it was the swiftness of the water that concerned us most. It didn’t take long to make a safety decision and forget that tramp. The river could continue to rise while we were out tramping, which would make a return ford crossing dangerous.
Then we decided to go up to Makahu Saddle area; but, on second thoughts, that road would be very slippery and with us not being in a four-wheel drive, we could easily lose traction.
At Ball’s Clearing picnic area
Fourth decision was to walk around Ball’s Clearing scenic reserve, which we had passed on the Hot Springs road (Pakaututu Road).
What a treat this was, as most of us hadn’t been there for years. Still cold and wearing hats, gloves and jackets, we walked the track for about an hour. There are huge rimu and kahikatea trees along with miro and red beech, some thought to be 600-700 years old. The understorey was filled with mahoe and tree and ground ferns. (A useful guide to identifying tree ferns is here )
We could tell there had been severe winds in this area by the amount of fallen trees, branches, fern fronds and leaves. The birdsong was delightful and we could hear them singing throughout our walk. Jenny clambered over a fallen tree trunk to read the signage about Jack Balls, who once lived in this bush.
Bush mushrooms
It was also interesting to note that the native long-tailed bat (pekapeka) lives in this bush. They are very hard to see or hear, as they are so small and are silent flyers.
(When I got home, I found my ‘Hawkes Bay for the Happy Wanderer’ book and read Shelia Cunningham’s excellent article about the history of this reserve, with the milling of 5000 hectares of native bush for timber and farming and the protests to save this piece from being milled.)
After our brisk walk, we sat in the shelter to eat either morning tea or an early lunch. Still hungry for more exercise, we drove to Little’s Bush. Forest and Bird cares for this reserve and does an excellent job with the track markings, signage (you couldn’t get lost), predator control and replanting. Again, most of us had never visited this special place or, if they had, it was a long time ago. So, it was well worth the visit and we were back in the Bay very early, with the sun still shining.
Trampers: Shona Tupe, Nozomu Takahashi, Phil Shakespeare, Amelia Moorhead, Rob Vork, Michaela Powell, Julian Phillips, Michelle Finlayson, Di Reid, Jenny Burns, Selina Chilton, Donna Weston and reporter Sue Martin
Leave a Reply