| Leader | Mentor | Understudy | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Brent | Janice | Graham | Frank W |
| Alternates | Ali | Alan H | Michelle | Sally |
Standards: distance 7.3km; duration 4hrs 30min (approx); vertical ascent 824m
Alternates: distance 10km; duration 3 hrs
Alan was our driver picking us up at Bishopdale at 8am. There were 43 of us on the bus including visitor Jacqui and guest John. The Alternate group was walking around Lake Clearwater for the first time, rather than up the Stour River as in 2022.
The 13 Standards were laughing nervously at the start as we were wondering if you lot were being much smarter than us! But I don’t think any of us regretted doing the Barossa option. Yes. It was just up up up all the way to the top, and we were in thick fog almost all the way from morning tea. And so cold after lunch we had to dig out all our almost-forgotten items from the depths of packs, like zip-off pants bottoms and neck warmers.
But there were plenty of highlights too: the incredible limestone tors at the top, singing a silly song together on top of one of those massive rocks, the gorgeous shards of quartz rock in pretty pastels lying around like discarded treasure, the delightful tiny sub-alpine flowers, witnessing from afar the hundred head of black cattle complaining loudly as they held up the traffic and leader Brent’s wacky idea to march (supposedly in unison) back to the bus!
Text by Shirls
After dropping the Standards at the bottom of a mist-covered ridge the Alternates sat on the bus for long enough for there to be some ‘Are we there yet?’ moments. We reached Lake Camp/Ōtuatari and some of us mistaking it for Lake Clearwater/Te Puna a Taka were surprised. It is a very small lake. Would we do several circumnavigations? Others knew it well, from earlier water-skiing days. It is the only lake in the area where powerboating is allowed.
There’s a cluster of fishing baches on the shores of Lake Clearwater. Brown trout apparently. And it’s a pretty walk around it. Sadly the lake’s future may not be so pretty. Without urgent action its imminent death has been heralded (David Williams, Newsroom, 18/02/2023). There are indications that due to land use, cow numbers and intensive farming, the lake could be flipping – transitioning from a clear, macrophyte-dominated state to a turbid, algae-dominated state. However over the past two years this transition has been slowed by ECAN and local landowners working together to encourage relocation of winter grazing to lower-risk areas, fencing waterways to restrict cows’ access and farming sheep.
On a happier note, the lake is also home to bitterns, wrybills and after receiving votes from a global fanbase Forest and Bird’s 2023 Bird of the Century the Pūteketeke or Australasian Crested Grebe. Thanks for its newly acquired celebrity status in large part go to John Oliver. Some of us were out to spot a nesting pair. We didn’t. The closest we got was a sign describing them.
Pūteketeke signage
The wait in the bus for the Standards on our return was short and filled with speculation about who was who as we watched their descent. What happens on the bus stays on the bus. Despite not seeing the now famous bird, it was a fun day out and we were home shortly after 5pm.
Text by Jen C
