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The Silverpeaks (sometimes speltSilver Peaks) is an area of roughforest andtussock andscrub covered hill country inland and to the northwest ofDunedin, New Zealand. The area is largely uninhabited; the main indication of human activity is theTaieri Gorge Railway, which preserves the route of the formerOtago Central Railway that runs along the steep-sided valley of theTaieri River. Much of the area lies within the Silverpeaks Scenic Reserve.
A network of walking tracks crisscross the area. From Pulpit Rock, trampers descend the Devil's Staircase into a lush valley just a short distance from Jubilee Hut. Access to these tracks is mainly via Double Hill Road, a rural road that leavesSH1 close toWaitati, and from several rural roads that leaveSH87 betweenOutram andMiddlemarch.
Several of the peaks rise to above 600 metres. The highest points in the Silverpeaks include Silver Peak (753 m), known inMāori as Huatea,[1] Pulpit Rock (750 m), Mount Allen (705 m), Mount Misery (702 m). Several tributaries of theTaieri River have their sources on the slopes of the Silverpeaks to the west, as do several tributaries of theWaikouaiti River in the east.
Antimony was once mined nearHindon, the largest settlement in the area.[2][3]
The Jubilee Hut is a popular hut for hikers in the Silverpeaks. The hut contains 10 bunks and is four hours walk in from Mountain road. The first Jubilee hut was opened in 1948 with the current Jubilee hut opening in 2007.[4][5]
Between November 2020 and October 2021, 600 bunk nights were booked at the hut.[4]
As the name suggests, the region is often snow-coated in winter, and the weather in the Silverpeaks is notoriously unpredictable.[6] The Department of Conservation considers the hiking in the area to be challenging and the country rugged.[7] Eight international students were rescued in May 2009. They spent several hours in freezing winds and snow flurries before being rescued. They told police they had not tramped in the Silver Peaks before. Five were suffering from hypothermia. ThreeLogan Park High School students died in the Silver Peaks in 1983. They were walking to the Jubilee hut when they lost their way in fog and were then caught in a blizzard.[8] Another fatality occurred in 1945 during a snow storm in the Silverpeaks.[9]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)45°42′00″S170°25′01″E / 45.7°S 170.417°E /-45.7; 170.417
