Trip Report - Wesport - June 2019
Day 1 08/06/19. Granity and surrounds.
After a beautiful trip up from Oamaru, use of 58 litres of diesel, and a wet and wild night, 11 trucks lined up at the Westport New World for a day out. Because of the weather conditions, our departure was delayed an hour, but in weak, watery sunshine we headed East towards Granity and Karamea. We were led by local identity Flag (Ian) and Les, with Donald and Shirley as ‘tail-end-charlie’.
You know you are on the West Coast when you have flax and bush lined right down to the road. From Westport, through Waimangaroa and onto Denniston, the coal fields historic area. Misty conditions on the tops and a little rain, when we viewed the Denniston Incline, from the bottom. With weather clearing we continued up the road, finding a goat track (‘Pig Route 63’) and onto ‘Sullivans 63’. There were many tracks left and right of us, all over the territory, and this navigator was holding on tightly. Ahead of us, we could see the Orowaiti River and onto Westport. It became rougher still and this navigator gave the new additional handle stabilizer a good workout. It past the test! Woops no go, too rough, we retraced the track with ‘tail-end-charlie’ taking the lead and the leader becoming ‘tail-end-charlie’, until we got back on the road to the repeater station on Mt Rochfort. What a great 360* view from up there, 5* and at altitude 1150m. It was a shame it was so cloudy and windy.
We drove through rocky terrain where the movie “The Lost World” was filmed, where dragons were flying around from wires. We continued on to the top of the Incline and the Brakehead for lunch. Time to explore, photographic opportunities, and walking here. Onto Granity and Seddonville, where there must be many crafty people, carving many wooden structures, even a ‘global warming’ structure. We cut through the ‘Grand Canyon’ to the open cast mine of Millerton, with historic concrete bath house. There was opportunity for walking in the bush to view a dam, now obsolete, a mining site complete with coal filled wagons, rusted wheels and railway line, just as it was when closed in 1968.
We viewed the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’, with its magnificent waterfall, then onto Naukamau, the beginning/end of the Charming Creek walkway, also the end of the railway line, where the coal from the present Stockton Mine, is transported down the hill in buckets before being sorted and trucked onto its next destination.
A great day 4x4 driving, and remembering it was a shiny truck run, the challenges made us think. Just one truck casualty for the day and hopefully that was quickly corrected.
The Westport Workingmens Club hosted us for dinner, drinks and good conversation, with the second day to follow.
Links .. www.denniston.co.nz/history
Books: 'Denniston Rose' and 'Heart of Coal' by Jenny Pattrick
Prado EZL682. Julie and Ron Pringle
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