Huts
Safety
Big Hut
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•
Big Hut is owned and maintained by the Rock and
Pillar Hut Trust. The hut has 16 bunks, solar lighting,
a large common room and table tennis facilities, but
no heating. Trampers need to bring their own cookers
and utensils.
Fees (per night)
Adult: $10
Child (12 yrs and under): $5
Pay at the hut or post fee
to: Rock and Pillar Hut
Trust, Box 42,
Ranfurly 9353.
Special fees apply for
education or commercial
ventures and if a warden
Photo: J Barkla
is required.
Parties of 8 or more people need to book in advance.
To book, email bighut@middlemarch.co.nz or
text 0274 358311.
Leaning Lodge Hut
Leaning Lodge hut is maintained by the Leaning
Lodge Trust. The hut has 10 bunks, but no heating
or lighting. Trampers
need to bring their own
cookers and utensils.
Fees (per night)
Adult: $5
Youth (11–17 yrs): $2.50
Under 10 yrs: free
Photo: Gene Dyett
Post fees to: Otago Tramping and
Mountaineering Club, Box 1120, Dunedin 9054.
Bookings are not required.
Dogs
Dogs are permitted on conservation land only. They
are not permitted on the access tracks, as they cross
private land, or on Sutton Salt Lake Track.
•
•
•
!
Your safety is your responsibility.
Leave your intentions with a
trusted contact via the outdoor
intentions on the Adventure
Smart website
www.adventuresmart.org.nz.
Check the weather forecast before you enter
the area.
Cellphone coverage is not reliable in the
conservation area. Satellite phones, mountain
radios and personal locator beacons are
recommended.
Lighting fires is not permitted.
WARNING
The Rock and Pillar Conservation Area is very
exposed. Wintery conditions can occur at any
time of the year, and the area is subject to snow,
especially during winter.
Further information
DOC Coastal Otago Area Office
77 Lower Stuart Street, PO Box 5244, DUNEDIN 9058
Phone: (03) 4770 677; email: dunedinvc@doc.govt.nz
DOC Central Otago Area Office
43 Dunstan Rd, PO Box 176, ALEXANDRA 9340
Phone: (03) 440 2040; email: centralotago@doc.govt.nz
Cover: Cloud-filled Strath Taieri from Big Hut. Photo: J Barkla
All photos, unless otherwise
credited, are copyright DOC.
Published by
DOC Coastal Otago
June 2013
Editing and design
Publishing Team, DOC National Office
This publication is produced using
paper sourced from well-managed,
renewable and legally logged forests.
9 421005 174489 >
Tracks in the
Rock and Pillar
Conservation Area
A beautiful mountain escape
just 1 hour’s drive from Dunedin
Highlights
• Explore and
walk through the
snow tussock and
impressive rock tors
• Stay overnight in
character huts and
enjoy the spectacular
sunset
• See the kārearea/New
Zealand falcon glide
in the updraught
Geology and natural history
Tors near Leaning Lodge Hut. Photo: J Barkla
The Rock and Pillar Conservation Area is one of
Otago’s most distinctive upland features, its summit
ridge dominated by impressive schist tors or rocky
pillars. The conservation area lies 1,000 metres
above the plains, and climbs through low-altitude
tussock, subalpine
shrublands and
snow tussock,
providing
breathtaking
views.
Formed over the last 3 million years, the Rock and
Pillars are a series of folds, (steep ranges rolling
onwards like an ocean swell), the result of deep local
faulting.
Some blocks of resistant schist remain, long after the
surrounding rock has eroded away. These tors are a
significant feature on the bleak and windswept ridges.
The fell fields on the crest (slopes where freeze and
thaw cycles push plants out of the soil, which make it a
difficult place for plants to grow), have wave-like, ridgepatterned soils.
A lens-shaped cloud formation, known locally as
the Taieri Pet, is seen regularly; its appearance is
associated with nor-west winds.
Plants
History
Above 900 metres, blue tussock (Poa colensi) and
patches of the aromatic daisy Celmisia viscosa are
dominant along with low herbs, cushion plants
and hebe shrublands. As the snowbanks recede in
late spring, the first flowers emerge; peak flowering
time for high-altitude plants is mid-January to
mid-February. On the upper flanks, look out for the
endemic daisy Celmisia haastii among native grasses
and speargrass (Aciphylla sp). Lower down, snowgrass
(Chionchloa rigida) is mixed with shrubs and native
herbs.
Wetlands and tarns are common. They host an array
of mosses, cushion plants, herbs and sedges. A small
stand of tōtara at the northern end of the range is a
remnant of forests that once grew on the lower slopes.
Lianes, fuschia (Fuschia perscandens), native ferns and
mountain flax/harakeke, are found in scattered gullies.
Patearoa is the traditional Southern Māori name for
the Rock and Pillar Range. Cultural artefacts typical of
the Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe and Kāi Tahu iwi have been
found, and indicate a long association with the area.
While hot, dry summers and harsh winters would
have made life difficult for the early inhabitants, the
Strath Taieri was a mahika kai/food gathering area.
Flax/harakeke and cabbage tree/tī kōuka were often
planted at campsites/nohoaka for practical reasons.
Sandals/paraerae could be made from the leaves of
both plants, and the stem and root of the cabbage tree
could be cooked and eaten.
The area was also a source of raw materials such as
tikumu (Celmisia semi-cordata) and cottonwood,
harvested from several sites on the range. Silcrete rock
was another local resource; large blocks were split into
flake knives, a feature of the Waitaha era, which were
used at moa butchery sites throughout Otago.
European pastoralists began to move into the area
in the mid-1800s, and were followed by the gold rush
prospectors.
The construction of the Central Otago railway began
in 1879 and serviced this predominantly farming
district until it closed in 1990. The rail corridor opened
in 2000 and became the Otago Central Rail Trail, a
popular multi-day cycle trail.
For more information, visit www.doc.govt.nz.
Animals
The height of invertebrate activity coincides with late
summer flowering when, in good weather, geometrid
moths flit about feeding on nectar. The tarns and bogs
also support numerous life forms, most notably diurnal
stoneflies and caddis flies.
On the open tops, the mountain stone
wētā (Hemideina maori), which grows
to 65 mm in length, is unique to Otago.
It can survive months of extreme, snowcovered conditions due to antifreeze
properties in its blood. Photo: N Vallance
A species of flightless chafer beetle (Prodontria
montis) is endemic to the Rock and Pillar’s alpine
cushionfields, and another beetle, (Megadromus
bullatus), is easily recognised by its size and greenish
metallic sheen.
On sunny days it is possible to see skinks basking on
the schist outcrops. South Island pied oystercatcher/
tōrea, banded dotterel/tūturiwhatu and black-backed
gull/karoro frequent the area. The Australasian
harrier/kāhu and New Zealand falcon/kārearea can be
seen gliding in the updraughts in search of prey.
Hunting
Permits are required for hunting pigs and red deer
in the Rock and Pillar Conservation Area and can be
obtained online at www.doc.govt.nz or at your local
DOC office.
Pigs, red deer and goats are present in the Western
Rock and Pillar Conservation Area. Hunting is
restricted in this area and permits must be obtained
from the DOC Central Otago Area Office in
Alexandra.
For more information, visit www.doc.govt/hunting.
1
The car park is signposted on SH87, approximately 22
km north of Middlemarch. To reach the marked route,
turn left at the second stile and follow the markers to
the conservation boundary.
2 hr 15 min, 5 km to conservation area boundary
2
At the intersection of SH87 and Ngapuna Road, follow
the Otago Central Rail Trail north for 100 metres
before reaching the beginning of the route. Follow the
markers that begin on the fence line.
2 hr, 4.6 km to conservation area boundary
3
Access and parking is at Kilmory Station, 20 metres
south of Lug Creek.
Because of the fragile environment, vehicles must keep
to the track.
3 hr, 9.1 km to summit (on foot);
(1 hr 30 min to conservation area boundary)
4
Signposted from SH87 (Wandle Road), this track
begins near McKinnon Road junction. Vehicle access
is through cattle stops on private property. Park at the
car park and walk the marked route to the conservation
boundary.
15 min, 1.2 km to conservation area boundary
5
Access is from Gladbrook Road near March Creek.
Cross the stile and follow the markers to the
conservation boundary.
1 hr 30 min, 3.7 km to conservation area boundary
6
The parking area and route are reached through a
farm gate by turning left at the end of Rock Road.
Follow the marked route along the fence line to the
conservation boundary.
1 hr 30 min, 4.3 km to conservation area boundary
7
Parking is near the southern end of Gladbrook Road.
Follow the marked route to the conservation boundary.
Please note: The track is closed
for lambing 1 September – 31 October.
2 hr, 5.7 km to conservation area boundary
8
From Old Dunstan Road, access is at a stile adjacent
to the Loganburn reservoir.
9
300 metres north of McPhees Creek ford on Old
Dunstan Road, a 4WD track leads to McPhees Rock
and on to the summit. This track crosses private land
to the conservation boundary, so please respect the
landowner’s property.
Because of the fragile environment,
vehicles must keep to the track.
Please note: Old Dunstan Road is open
1 October – 31 May.
10 Western Rock and Pillar Conservation Area
Steep, rolling tussock land with views overlooking the
Maniototo Plains. Access is from the car park south of
Waipiata, via Orangapai Road and Hamilton Diggings
Road.
Please note:
• To access by 4WD or on horseback, you need the
combination for the lock on both gates at either
end of the 4WD track. This can be obtained from
the DOC Central Otago Area Office in Alexandra.
• This track is open to vehicles from
1 November – 1 May.
• There is no public access from the Western Rock
and Pillar Conservation Area to the larger Rock
and Pillar Conservation Area.
11 Sutton Salt Lake Track
Sutton Salt Lake is New Zealand’s only inland salt
lake. With no outlet, the lake has concentrated salts
from surrounding soils as it has repeatedly filled,
evaporated and refilled. The car park is off Kidds Road.
1 hr return
No dogs on track
4WD road
Mountain bike track
Other track symbols
Tramping track: mostly
unformed but with track
directional markers, poles or
cairns. Backcountry skills and
experience required.
Walking track: a defined,
formed track, suitable for most
ages and abilities.
Note: The tramping tracks to
the conservation boundary
cross private land. Please
respect the landowners’
property and livestock.
Track grades