Black Hill, Rakaia

Sunday, 1 September 2019

The Black Hill trip has historically left town at 7.00am to allow for a long drive into the Rakaia valley and the climb to the top from the former old quarry site, if we could manage to drive there at all. Then depending on the route option taken and the month, often pushed the daylight hours. But the logistics have changed substantially a number of years back. The farmer split the farm, completely rebuilt the road around the quarry including a sidle of Redcliffe Hill eventually making it possible to drive right in to the old musterers’ hut. The ‘old hut’ has had a complete upgrade including toilet and shower, maybe for quarry operation accommodation. The farmer was happy for us to drive in, so what was a long day has now potentially become a relatively short day, depending on conditions and the route/circuit taken to the top.