Saddle Hill normally just sits there, taunting us, playing hard to get. It seems to find it more comfortable to be pined after and unattainable, than to deign to the indignity of openness.
Well, no. It’s a happier story than that. Normally, Saddle Hill is privately owned and inaccessible to the public but recently its three landowners kindly opened it up as a fundraiser for Rotary.
Over 300 people walked the 3km return trip. It was a delightful vibe. Babies were in backpacks, excited children were running, and grateful adults of all ages greeted each other on the track. There was even a Mosgiel man of nearly 80, finally having the chance to fulfill his longheld fantasy of seeing what’s up there.
After a night of heavy rain the wide dirt track was really slippery. But people just got stuck in with a wartime conviviality.
Above the bushline are the views you’d expect, our region-wide gaze reversed — from harbour head, a rare overview of Kaikorai Estuary, down across the Taieri, and over the sea to the Catlins. On the peak someone reflected, ‘‘We live in paradise’’.
This is the third time the fundraiser has happened, first in 2017, then in 2022. A Rotary bloke joked that they’d thought about using the money for a big party. In fact, it’s going to K9 Medical Detection NZ. Dogs are trained to sniff human urine samples and detect odour released by diseased cells. The aim is early detection of cancer.
Our known and loved Saddle Hill has generously made itself available to share the love.
