Walk Details

NZ Walking Routes > Otago > Alexandra > Potters Goldfield – Old Man Range

Potters Goldfield – Old Man Range

Location

Symes Road, 10km south of Alexandra, gives access to the TV transmitter and the Fraser Basin at the northern end of the range. The Waikaia Bush Road leads to the Potters/Campbells Gully goldfield at the south end of the range. Both roads are single lane, lightly metalled and steep. Beyond the second gate on the Waikaia Bush Road and the third gate on Symes Road, the surface is clay only. Use of these roads by ordinary cars is subject to the weather at all times. Both roads are normally negotiable between mid December and late March, but in some years snow drifts across the roads may not clear until late summer and the surface may never dry out enough for 2WD cars. If due caution is exercised, both roads should be negotiable on a fine summer day. It is not possible to take cars right through to Piano Flat on the Waikaia Bush Road.

Description

As the road climbs notice the change in vegetation with altitude. Oversown pasture gives way to fescue tussocklands on the mid slopes and finally to true Alpine snow tussock. This end of the Old Man Range is noted for its alpine flowers, particularly the snowbank and alpine bog vegetation in the heads of the flanking valleys. The road passes through a boggy area before the summit where a ford may give trouble. Please respect the alpine bogs – they are fragile and have been damaged by trail bikes in places.

On the summit are the remains of the original Tuapeka county shelter hut. The road then curves around the head-waters of the Pomahaka River to the "new" shelter hut. . In 1862 miners were trapped by a heavy snowfall and over 30 died trying to break out. A memorial to them is found beside the main road at Gorge Creek.

From the shelter hut there is a fine view up the impressive glacial cirque (the head of a past glacial valley) at the head of Campbells Creek. About 1km from the shelter hut is the turn off to Potters. Do not attempt to take ordinary cars beyond this point. The road to Piano Flat in the Waikaia is marginal even to 4WD vehicles due to swampy conditions over the next few kilometres. A short walk on a 4WD track leads to the Potters workings, the highest and most remote of all Otago's goldfields. Two well preserved stone huts can be used for an overnight stay. On the other side of the workings, on top of an isolated knoll is the "lone grave" – surely one of the loneliest in New Zealand. There is a magnificent view here of the plateau country of the Waikaia River head-waters, backed by the Garvie Mountains to the west. From the lone grave head west down a prominent spur, trending right, to the junction of the east branch of the Waikaia River and Campbells Creek. This is a route only, there is no marked track. The Waikaia is a clear green river running in a small gorge. Campbells Creek is now traversed back to Potters. The creek is gorgy and it is necessary to cross and re-cross to avoid bluffs and waterfalls. Every little flat has its ruined stone hut and gold workings, mainly stone wing dams and small tailings. A particularly fine group of stone huts and a large 200m long, 2m high wing dam is found at a bend in the stream, about 1/2km downstream from the Nuggety Gully junction. More small gorges are traversed until the creek opens out at the Potters No. 2 Creek which is followed back to the huts at Potters.

Visit www.nzsouth.co.nz for full information on this area.

Duration

4.0 hours

Level

Hard

Amenities

• Historical
• Huts
• Lookouts
• Tramping

Source

www.nzsouth.co.nz

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