Six Mile Track

If bygone times interest you, you can combine a walk with a slice of history. 'The Six Mile' walk is situated 9.6 kilometres from the Murchison township on the Matakitaki Road.

This hour long walk starts and finishes at the old Six Mile hydro power station by the Six Mile Creek Bridge. The power and hydro scheme opened in 1922 and provided power to Murchison. It operated for 54 years before closing in 1975 as it was considered to be uneconomic.

The track zigzags 50 metres uphill beside the old penstock to the water storage reservoir. 

When the track entered the bush I noticed moss smothering everything.

The track continued on to follow the water race and eventually ended at a viewing platform above an old weir.

Below the weir are waterfalls and rapids in a narrow granite gorge. The sound of the water thundering down made my heart beat faster – I don’t know why huge amounts of flowing water always does that?

The return walk is along the same track. I was hoping to get some photos of birds but didn’t spot any, although I heard a few in the distance.

Black beech (Fuscospora solander) claimed its name because it's prone to a sooty mold that covers its trunks and branches. A scale insects which sucks at the sap front he tree excretes honeydew, a sweet liquid in small droplets on the end of stalks. This feeds the sooty mold and forms a valuable high energy food source for various birds and insects.

Near the end of the walk, I stepped out of the bush and was surprised how warm the day had become.

The vegetation changed dramatically. 

Although broom is an invasive shrub that competes with our native plants, I couldn't help but admire this 'Scotch Broom'. Look at the colour!

Kahikatea Walk

Another scenic bush walk close to Murchison is the Kahikatea Walk. It's located at the the Murchison camping grounds on the eastern side of the township.

This walk is an easy loop track, which takes about 15 - 20 minutes. I read that many forest-dwelling birds live here, such as bellbirds, tui, kererū, robins, fantails, silvereyes and kingfishers, but I was out of luck and didn't even spot one.

The Kahikatea Walk features kahikatea and mataī trees - the remains of the lowland podocarp forest, which in the past dominated the plains of Murchison.

One species of beech tree (perhaps the red beech?) had patches of what looked like blood in areas where the bark had rubbed away.

Many of the trees had moss sprawling across and down from their branches. 

If you're wondering about dogs, a lady in the office at the camp ground said dogs are allowed on this walk providing they were on leads.

Eight Mile Track

The Eight Mile track is just over 12 kilometres from Murchison township. Heading west, turn left onto Fairfax Street, this street joins onto Matakitaki Road (which is where this walk begins).

The track could be missed as the sign is relatively small and on the left hand side of a bend.

We walked the track in spring, and it was obvious not many people had used it over the winter months. 

The path was smothered in soft, velvety moss and tiny, beech leaves.

We followed the creek for 500 metres or more before climbing upwards.

Luckily for the dogs this track didn't have any DOC signs or any indication they weren't allowed.

There were a couple of patches we had to skirt around to miss the mud. Bernie and I managed to, but the dogs plodded straight through.

The trees had moss dangling from their branches creating a magical landscape.

Going by the look on the dogs's face ... they all enjoyed themselves.

This is a great walk that will get your heart beating - it's half an hour or more uphill.

Murchison Bushwalks

Before breakfast, I took Paddy and Oakly for a drive hoping to find somewhere they could have a walk. Boo wouldn't come with us - she wanted to stay in bed with Bernie.

I found a quiet road and parked the ute. It was threatening to rain so it wasn't a long walk but at least the dogs got to stretch their legs and get some fresh air.

I went for a drive to find any places suitable for walking the dogs before heading back to the rig. There are some beaut swimming holes around.

The township has a few heritage buildings scattered around, we'll go to the museum tomorrow and find out some local history.

Murchison can lay claim to where the world's first suicide bombing occurred. After a long standing dispute between two farmers (Walter Neame and Joseph Sewell), the two men went to court in an attempt to settle their differences. Sewell strapped himself with sticks of gelignite and blew himself up outside the Murchison Courthouse on the 14 July 1905. It was reported worldwide an the 'Murchison Tragedy'.

We had several visitors during the morning and by lunchtime the sun had come out. Charlotte (who we met last night) left to go to Nelson so we waved her good-bye - she drove off as though she'd driven her bus for years.

After looking online for some walks in the area I grabbed the camera and set off.

The first walk was 'Johnson's Creek Track'. It's located 6km along a gravel road called Matakitaki West Bank Road (1km west of Murchison). The track follows a creek to a big slip which was formed in the 1929 Murchison earthquake. At one part of the track an orange marker on a tree indicates to cross the creek. Due to the amount of rain recently the creek was too high to cross so I had to turn back.

On the drive back a wild, black cat streaked across the road. I stopped and searched for it but it was nowhere to be seen. Probably a good thing I couldn't find it - 3 dogs and a feral cat might be a bit challenging!

Luckily these twin kids had their mum not far away or they too might have been encouraged to come home with me.

The next walk was the 'Skyline walk'. It also starts off from Matakitaki West Bank Road. The track is 3kms and zig zags uphill through native bush to the skyline.

I had a couple of feathery friends to keep me company along the way.

First Day On The Road

What a busy few days. Even though we’ve been preparing for this day for months (actually two years!), the last week has been hectic. We’ve stuck to our ‘To Do’ list and as we’ve ticked things off, we’ve added more. And then made extra lists! It seemed to go on and on.

But, it was worth all the effort as we drove away knowing the house was left spotless for the tenant to enjoy.

Saying goodbye to family was something I wasn’t looking forward to. But as someone said, ‘It’s not good-bye – it’s see ya later’. I like that. I’m so grateful our family is excited and supportive of our new adventure.

It was hard to sleep the night before we left. We were both excited and eager to get going.

By 10am we were sorted. The house was tip-top and we were packed and ready to leave. We said good-bye to the neighbours and then I went to say good-bye to Becs. I kept it brief because I knew I’d sob like a baby!

After filling the rig with water, we were on our way. I stopped at Wakefield to give the dogs a run and then stopped at the top of the Spooners to catch Bernie to check all was going well.

We arrived at the NZMCA park in Murchsion around 1 o’clock. What a great site. Lots of space to park on flat gravel. It’s $3/night per person, max. 7 nights.

It didn’t take us long to set up and put the dog fencing around. Then we made a cuppa and relaxed for half an hour before heading out to take the dogs for a walk beside the river.

After dinner we had a visit from Charlotte who is traveling with her dog and two cats in her 11.5 metre bus. She tows a dolly which transports her car behind the bus. What an inspiring person. She bought the bus in June and had never driven a larger vehicle like that before. After buying it she got her HT licence and ever since has been learning as she goes.