Out today for a vehicle recovery/sight seeing trip to Muzzle Station.

Took a few pics. I know the likes of Bon etc maybe keen on seeing some of the "old" country yet again.

Clarence River by Muzzle Homestead

Clarence River

Roaring Meg crossing Clarence (in front of the truck! incase of "issues")

Near Quail Flat

Our load of valuables!!

Looking down onto Quail Flat

Looking seawards down Clarence River

Quail Flat

Pretty sure this may have been Bons old residence?

Inside Quail Flat rabbiters hut

Inside Quail Flat rabbiters hut # 2

Quail Flat Cobb Cottage (1860? ish) with Bread oven just in front (built 1920)

A long way out!!

DoC's new $75,000 Wardens Hut

Old Hut beside Wardens Hut

Awesome rock formations - pics dont do it justice

Awesome rock formations - pic dont do justice

Nearer the pass

Nearer the pass

Looking down creek towards Clarence from the Pass

Looking down towards Clarence

Blind Saddle

Would have been a nice trip even without a rifle 

Cheers Rabbithunter. Some great photos there. In a life time of hunting and fishing you wouldn't see half of what NZ's got on offer. 

Great photos rabbithunter.Thanks for post.

For those that dont know, the Muzzle is one of the most remote stations in NZ..

There was a good part of the tv series rivers about it..

Thanks RH. The hut you suggested I might have used wasn't there in my day,nor were there any roads at all. Just the packtrack over the Kaikouras. And I see new iron buildings at Quail Flat,and pine trees [there were none of those]  The old hut is called Bluff Dump, Nicely painted nowadays. Muzzle Station used to shift their wool in eighty pound bales from the Muzzle by wagon pulled by mules. The route was up the Clarence to Quail Flat , then up the Herron[ now called the Seymour] as far as Bluff Dump. The mules were unharnessed here and had pack saddles put on them.
They were then loaded with two eighty pound bales and driven out over the packtrack to the Kaikoura side. Clarence Reserve station packed their wool out the same way using horse packteams. One day a mule team met a horse team on the track,the mules took the inside running and pushed the horse team over the side. It's still called dead horse gully. Pack team took around seven and a half hours from the homestead out to Quail Flat. I often packed for the station when culling out there as it wasn't always easy to find people who could pack. Of all the places I hunted professionally the Clarence holds fond memories. The weather was so good , it was, back then,  very remote, AND,no trampers,no recreational hunters. All that country to yourself and a mate for the eight month season. Huge block,from the Hossack to the Haycock [Jam] and all the Lake McCrae ,Guide,Dillon country on the Molesworth. I've got photos of the Mule teams and of the huts and camps.Mostly black and white. Enough dribble

I can only imagine living in such a great error would have been hard but amazing

Great pics and nice to here some history Bon 

Bon, do you have a box of negatives?  Damn I could spend a day with you over a nice Scotch...

I have access to a crappy but passable negative scanner... if we add someone with memory to the brew I'd love to capture your stories..

Looking at the photo of Quail Flat. The ground in front of the building is now concreted?  It used to be cobble stones. By removing them the renovators have also removed a piece of history.But they would not have realized it.
Opposite Quail Flat,across the Clarence is a hill with a flatish face. The hill is called clockface. I was in the DoC office in Renwick a few years back and noticed a pamphlet about Quail Flat. It explained that clockface got it's name because the cooks used to time the bread baking by the suns shadow moving across the face of the hill.
This is incorrect. Embedded in the cobble stones was the neck of a green bottle. The cooks would insert a stick in this and there were small knicks cut into the stones. in a circle. The shadow from the stick gave them the time. Because the hill was in the background ,it was given the name of clockface.
I told the DoC lady at Renwick this, her look told me what she was thinking. Silly old buggar.

Awesome photos mate. Interesting history by the sounds of it. Love that sort of stuff. Cheers rabbithunter and Bon  


Oh...no pics of the vehicle recovery? Sounds interesting 

Salmoner wrote on May 24^th, 2011 at 7:40pm:


I might have taken a few crappy photo's but what Bon and others have added is HISTORY. Which is facinating.

Especially hearing from Bon on previous PM's about how they flew out old tractors in peices to Quail Flat then assembled, so they could plant/harvest carrots for rabbit poison operations.

Bon wrote on May 22^nd, 2011 at 11:40am:



Are you able to scan your old photos and post them on here?

OK Cleaky, pm your e-mail to me.  And, it won't happen overnight,but it will happen

Bon wrote on May 31^st, 2011 at 2:41pm:


Its been a few nights now!! 

A huuuge thanks to Bon for sharing these priceless memories with us. Here goes:

Absolutely awesome Thanks for shearing

Heres some of my Clarence Reserve-Quail Flat-Muzzle Station pics from a later era.

Outside main Cookhouse on Quail Flat, me in the doorway, Allen (Alli Thomas) to my side (black hair) seated, he was one of Earnie Thomas's sons that owned (had the lease) of the Clarence Reserve. Next to Alli is Les Battersby the Rabbit Board inspector.
The old clay bread baking oven is in behind the keg behind Kevin Grey on the guitar.



Inside the main cookhouse... me guarding the keg.



Bunkhouse beside the main cookhouse.



Bushy saddle enroute to quail Flat.



Bluff Dump Hut - Heron Stream









Black Creek Hut just up a side crek of the Heron Stream before Quail Flat



Ravine Hut - Muzzle Stn.









Clarence R upstream from Ravine Hut



St Paul Block - Muzzle Stn.



Note the posts in front of the hut, we built the verandah/porch on the front of the hut on this trip (a couple of pics up you can see the finished job ... pics are out of order)
We also built the dunny on a previous trip .... man what a view looking down the clarence that dunny had.



Clarence R.



Muzzle Stream






The Dessert Plateau above the Dart Stream.



Quail Flat taken from a PA38 Tomahawk



Lake McRae

Bon wrote on Jun 20^th, 2011 at 4:54pm:

Hell yes 

Great thread. Thanks all of you for taking the time to share it. 

More pics of Muzzle please, this is a great thread.
I have been lucky enough to have spent a bit of time in there, it was an amazing contrast to my south westland rain forest upbringing. I have a couple of those spherical pressure stones at my doorstep, they were nearby that porridge style rock face in the heron.

That's interesting. And it looks like the river has changed course taking out the bottom paddock. Guess a lot can happen in 50+ years.

Wow...I'm new to all this so just navigating around the site and checkin out all the great stories and photos.  Thanks to all on this thread, its awesome to see the history of our country and those that have gone before.  Great pics,  Cheers.

Also do you really have a picture of the old Ravine hut? And a few years ago when we had a fire we unearthed an old hut/camp site in a place called smokers hole, its not far from the Muzzle/Bluff homestead before the Cow Creek hut which still stands with its old stone chimney. There was an old fireplace with stones and roofing iron and a camp oven etc. It was beside a stand of willows in a gully. No one else can remember anything about it. Anymore stories would be great if you have the time....

And this should be number 5.... hopefully now i can message you back!

Wow! glad I stumbled across this. Thanks guys, awesome pics and history 

Wow, I was in there a few weekends back across the Clarence, on the other station that backs onto the muzzle. Awesome place. Luckily we didnt need Roaring Meg to get us across the river 

I had no idea you had such nice legs rick.

Good to see the airstrip is still in good nick (Quail).
Hope to go for a tiki-tour through there one day if it remains open....

Not a part of our great country I know much about, but one that's really interesting.  Cool to get a look into the history here. 

Rafting it in Mid January. Top fotos.

rick wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 2:00pm:


+1 It will be boney in places. A bit of game down there     

Red Beard wrote on May 30^th, 2012 at 10:00pm:


Long time since I took it, but think its looking South

rick wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 2:00pm:

The guys from Incept did it recently over Xmas period. Spoke to John Booth shortly before they did the trip. Must chat to him about whether it was too boney. Not worried about the hunting but love that view.

A good repeat on Country Calendar now!

Some new pics from a couple of days ago when I went over the top with family from Kaikoura.

Brilliant. Maybe next New Year for me.

Thanks  Ex RH. I've been scanning some pics from here and there etc of late,must dig out the Marlborough box and do some more of them.

These were taken before the quake, did the buildings and oven survive?
Photos of Clarence River
Kahutara End

Looking south to Inland Road

Kaikoura Peninsular

Looking north from Blind saddle


Looking north in to Seymour stream

Clarence photos




Dead jet boat




Seymour Hut




Looking up Palmer Stream




Didymo

I have heard that the Blind saddle track has been severely damaged

Check out Andrew Spencer Photography; +day 20 has images around Middle Hill, and top bridge.

https://www.facebook.com/andrewspencerphoto/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

One of the best books I have read.

A must read.

Life on Muzzle by Fiona Redfern.