Carricktown is somewhere we’ve had on our radar for quite some time. It’s in such close proximity to Cromwell, I’m wondering why we hadn’t ticked it off our list way before now!
Where To Stay
Although the start of the trail in Bannockburn is close to many camping or accommodation options, the Park Over Property (POP NZMC#8699) called Scottland is located on Quartzville Rd, Bannockburn. Now, this is right on the access road that will take you to the start of the Carricktown Trail.
surrounded by views, history and landscape it’s the perfect spot to stay
we strategically parked to make the most of those views
Scottland, Bannockburn
No, it’s not a typo…it is spelt with two ‘t’s. “Scotta-b-good” is what they’ve named their orchard. Click here to view their website.
If you have a self-contained rig, then you’re welcome to stay with Jenny and Bill Scott. They have set up part of their property to share with the travelling fraternity.
the view outside our back window
There are magnificent 360-degree views of Lake Dunstan, Mt Pisa, Old Man and Northburn ranges.
the walk down to the valley below is worth the effort
A bonus is that their property has some great mining history, dating back from the 1800s to the 1930s. You can do a walk down a steep path to the valley below, which must have seen some pretty extensive mining and sluicing operations.
there is an old waterwheel, caves to explore (take a torch) and a great example of the stonework of those early miners
keep an eye out for the goodies for sale at the gateway
Depending on the season, there will be fresh fruit, sauces and jams available to purchase in their little hutch at the gateway. Oh, and their free-range eggs are beautiful as well.
It will cost you $10 per person per night or $7.50 if you are an NZMCA member. The site is not suitable for children or pets.
Available on site:
- potable water supply
- water for other uses
- black water dump
- general rubbish disposal
- on-site orchard and produce
- eBike hire & battery charge
I promised Jenny that I’d do a promo video for her to use on their website. Click on the link below for a video of our stay at Scottland.
The Road to Carricktown
Just a few hundred metres further up the road is the gateway to Carricktown.
the start of the trail which will take us onto the Young Australian Historic Reserve
We teamed up with fellow JB Caravan owners Paul and Jenny and hit the track. It is classed as a 4wd trail and definitely, weather dependent.
There is a constant climb up, bumpy and rocky but quite doable in a standard 4×4 vehicle.
It was soon evident that we were in for some pretty amazing views as we continued our climb.
I’m sure the miners and their families would have appreciated our form of transport to get to their claims high up on the mountain range
Although Carricktown is set high on the Carrick Range, I doubt that the miners paused long enough to fully appreciate the views that spread out before them.
This area was never overly rich with gold but that didn’t stop the hundreds that flocked here to seek their fortune. The town was set up to service the miners and their families in their quest for the ‘yellow stuff’.
From the start of the track, it is 3.5km. It took a good while to get there, however, as I kept yelling to Scotty “PHOTO STOP”!!
Carricktown Ruins
It was hard to imagine that we were driving along what was the main street of Carricktown. Rambling ruins of a few of the homes is all that remains.
all that was left of a once-bustling little settlement, was the telltale signs of the crumbling walls that many men and their families called ‘home’
The miners left behind numerous scars on the landscape of their endeavours. It was a still and peaceful spot the day we visited but in reality, it must have been a harsh and unforgiving environment for them to have lived and worked.
It was onward and upwards as the bumpy track weaved its way further up the mountainous range.
all that is left of the Elizabeth Reef Stamper Battery
A little further up the road, we spotted numerous tailing piles and mullock heaps. We made another stop at the Elizabeth Reef stamper battery (well what’s left of it!). It was in quite close proximity of the town so the sound of those massive stampers, pounding throughout the day and night must have echoed around those mountain ranges and heard for miles – let alone living virtually across a small gully from it!
A Trail Dotted With Ruins
Because I didn’t have to be concerned with watching the trail ahead (I left that to Scotty) I spent time keeping an eye out for stone ruins, which gave us clues as to just how widespread and scattered the population was over the mountain range.
We stopped off at two well-preserved stone dams. Water was a precious commodity and the early miners went to great lengths to ensure they had adequate supplies of it.
the water races weave and crisscross their way for over 34km
We crossed the zigzagging water races numerous times that at some stage on the water race journey must have made its way to one of the dams.
The Carrick Water Race was often forged out from solid rocky land for over 34km. It was rapidly built between 1872 to 1874, to sell water to the miners of Bannockburn. It still remains today an essential asset to the local community. Back in the day, the water drove the waterwheels for the stamper batteries to extract the gold from the hard quartz rocks.
The Young Australian Waterwheel
The only remaining waterwheel in the area is the beautifully restored Young Australian Waterwheel. It is well signposted from the track and is a 1 km walking trail down to view it up close.
it was easy to spot the sign, pointing down the hill to get to the Young Australian Waterwheel, old stone houses dotted alongside the trail
Evidence of the worker’s houses still remains, telling us a story of where and how they lived, in close proximity to the wheel.
The waterwheel sits nestled high on a mountainside, looking quite out of place amongst the dry landscape.
the restored waterwheel sits proudly on the site since the 1870s
Like all the other waterwheels in the vicinity, the Young Australian Waterwheel drove a stamper batter to pound the gravel before extracting the gold. As mentioned earlier, the wheel has been restored and serves as a stark reminder of the activities that went on in the past.
it looked quite tiny when looking down at it from afar, but a different story when you get up close, it’s massive
Way on the other side of the gully, we spotted (handy to carry binoculars) the stamper. This was moved from the wheel to its current location and was run by a Pelton wheel (Pelton turbines are still used for electricity generation in hydraulic power plants).
There is an interpretation panel at the waterwheel explaining the workings with photos.
Lunch at the Trig
We had noticed a remarkable difference in the temperature now we were at a much higher altitude. We donned our jackets and hats and endeavoured to find a spot out of the prevailing winds to have a bite to eat.
it was a tad chilly but our lunchtime views made up for it
We stopped just short of the trig, indicating that we were close to the Duffers Saddle, which joins onto the Nevis Track (and the highest public road in NZ).
We’ve already driven the Nevis Road through to Garston (click here to read my blog) so we turned left at the junction and made our way back to Bannockburn.
This, however, was not to be the end of our exploring of the Carrick Range area.
We Returned a Few Days Later…..
Scotty and I were discussing our trip a few days later and decided that it would be great to get to that stamper battery that we spotted across the gully from the Young Australian Waterwheel.
So it was back in ‘The Grunter’ and we headed back up the Nevis Road, took the turnoff and found our way back towards the waterwheel.
Adams Gully Battery
This time, we parked close to the water race that must have originally fed the waterwheel. We proceeded to walk alongside the race until we spotted the best accessway to take us down to the battery.
it was just a matter of following the water race until we spotted a way down to the battery
It was nothing more than a goat track but was relatively easy going to get to the site. The waterwheel was just a dot on the distant hillside, pretty much on the same level.
although they only moved half of it across the valley, the 5 stampers would have still been a challenging maneuver
It’s believed that it originally operated 10 stampers when it was brought across from Alexandra to sit beside the Young Australian Waterwheel in 1875. It was moved across the valley in 1896, but only half of it. So it remains just a 5 head stamper battery.
The Adams Gully Stamper Battery is a great example of the tools they used to extract their gold
As well as the battery, there is a ‘berdan’ (crushing bowl) with its iron weight lying on the ground alongside. There is also the remains of a building that was possibly used as a forge.
We’re glad that we returned to navigate our way down to the battery. It finished off our explorations of the Carricktown Trail nicely. We drove back to the trig for another lunch spot, nestled between the rocks for shelter – although we had a much warmer day than that of a few days earlier.
it was lunchtime back at the trig, ending our two days of exploring quite nicely
Click on the link below to view a video of our exploration highlights.
Thank you so much Scotty and Linda for sharing your experiences and enthusiasm.
Your blogs are superbly well written and presented. Makes a huge step up from travel guides promoting restaurants and vineyards.
Hope we meet up sometime ‘out there’.
Oh thank you so much Moris, we really appreciate your feedback and are glad you are enjoying reading them. See you out there one day. L