DOC Information Centre Sumner Taylors Mistake Godley Head Halswell Akaroa Lyttelton Harbour 75km SUMMITSFerry AND BAYS WALKS AKAROA WAIREWA Explore the country around Akaroa and Little RiverPort Levy on these family friendly walks Explore Akaroa/Wairewa on foot Choose Your Banks Peninsula Walk Explore some of the less well-known parts of Akaroa Harbour,Tai Tapu Pigeon Bay the Eastern Bays and Wairewa (the Little River area) on these Little Akaloa family friendly adventures. Chorlton Road Okains Bay The three easy walks are accessed on sealed roads suitable for Te Ara P¯ataka Track Western Valley Road all vehicles. The more remote and harder tramps are accessed Te Ara P¯ataka Track Packhorse Hut Big Hill Road 3 Okains Bay via steep roads, most unsuitable for campervans. Road Use the map and information on this page to choose your route Summit Road Museum Rod Donald Hut and see how to get there. Then refer to the more detailed map 75 Le Bons Okains Bay Camerons Track Bay and directions to find out more and follow your selected route. Road Lavericks Ridge Road Hilltop Tavern 75 7 Duvauchelle Panama Road Choose a route that is appropriate for the ability of your group 1 4WD only Christchurch Barrys and the weather conditions on the day. Prepare using the track Bay 2 Little River Robinsons 6 Bay information and safety notes in this brochure. Reserve Road French O¯ nawe Kinloch Road Farm Lake Ellesmere / Okuti Valley Summit Road Walks in this brochure are arranged in order of difficulty. If you Te Waihora Road Reynolds Valley have young children or your family is new to walking, we suggest Little River Rail Trail Road Saddle Hill you start with the easy walk in Robinsons Bay and work your way Lake Forsyth / Akaroa Te Roto o Wairewa 4 Jubilee Road 4WD only up to the more challenging hikes. Bossu Road Wainui Kaitorete Spit Birdlings Flat Paua Bay 5 Hinewai Te Oka Bay Road Bossu Road Key to walks Long Bay / Otanerito 20 minute. Short easy Robinsons Bay Tumbledown/ Stony Bay walk with interesting rustic State Highway 75 1 Story Trail Te Kaio Bay Akaroa Harbour displays. Sealed roads Te Oka Bay 1 hour circular - steep walk Gravel roads Peraki Bay Flea Bay 2 Ngaio Point with steps and two beaches. (unsuitable for campervans) Other Tracks – See Te Ara P¯ataka and Little River Rail Trail brochures for information on Okains Bay 15 minutes circular - Short these tracks 3 Millenium easy walk, lovely drive, River Walk Museum and beach. Well formed track surface, Walk on formed track. Some Safety is your responsibility 2 ½ hour relatively easy easy walking up and down. Wear walking Saddle Hill/ Plan, prepare and equip yourself well. tramp to summit with vast shoes 4 Puaitahi vistas. Tracks slippery after rain – sturdy footwear and walking sticks Easy tramping on formed, Tramping on mostly unformed recommended. 2 ½ hours one way tramp signposted track. track. Prolonged up and down Te Oka Cliffs and other hazards – keep children under supervision. 5 Reserve from summit to shore. Wear walking shoes or hill. Boots recommended tramping boots Weather can change quickly – check forecast before departure. 5 hour return tramp linking Medium grade mountain Mountain bikes not permitted Coastal and upland areas exposed – take layered clothing. 6 Okuti Track Okuti Valley and Hilltop. biking. Shared use with Limited food and water available – always take water walkers. High fire danger – absolutely no fires to be lit anywhere. 30 mins return or 2 hours Before departing – let a trusted contact know your intentions. 7 Panama Rock circular stiff, steep tramp. Dogs permitted on leads Dogs prohibited Overnight stay options. Crossing and walking along roads – most walks involve road crossing and short sections along roads. Keep sharp ears and eyes out for vehicles, dogs on leads and hold childrens hands. State Highway 75 is busy with limited visibility. Learn more as you explore 1 Banks Peninsula – a geological wonder The short Robinsons Bay Story Trail makes an excellent place ROBINSONS BAY STORY TRAIL The unique topography of Banks Peninsula results from its to start your explorations. Rustic displays, the former school A lovely short walk with story panels, origins as a volcanic island. The Akaroa volcano erupted nine site and bush track make it ideal for small children. rustic displays and historic school site. million years ago and activity continued in different places for Ngaio Point track combines a steep up and down coastal another three million years. When volcanic activity ceased, Getting There: Take State Highway 75 walk with two little beaches and wonderful views of Ónawe the forces of erosion took over, weathering down the crater to Robinsons Bay Valley Road. Turn into Peninsula. Excellent for primary age kids and young teens. 20 minutes circular. rim to half its original height, while streams rushing down Valley Road and park by the Reserve Head to Okains Bay for full day outing combining a short the interior and exterior of the crater cut the radial pattern sign about 100m further along. of valleys and bays. Eventually the sea broke through in the riverside walk, a visit to the excellent Museum, a trip to the SAFETY ADVICE beach and a return drive via Chortlon Road. There is a small No parking in School Road. weakest part of the rim creating the harbour of today. Listen for vehicles on café at the Museum and a village shop for treats. Directions: Walk back along The volcanic land mass stood isolated for much of its For more challenging adventures, try out our four tramps! School Road. Robinsons Bay Valley Road to School existence, only becoming part of the South Island 20,000 Conquer the summit of Saddle Hill with a relatively gentle Road on the footpath and then up years ago, when the Canterbury Plain, continually growing 200m climb. This upland reserve features rare snow tussock, School Road. Hold onto children’s hands along the road and outward as gravel erodes from the alps, reached it. sub-alpine rock plants and expansive views in all directions. stay on the verge if you hear a vehicle. After about 100m you will You get a magnificent sense of this process from the summit Tramp down Te Oka track from Bossu Road to the coast. Then see a little gate on the left, up some steps. This is the Reserve of Saddle Hill on a clear day. Stretched out below you is enjoy swimming at child-friendly Tumbledown beach or wild entrance. Go through the gate and up the steps. Then follow Akaroa Harbour; Ónawe Peninsula in its upper reaches is the and rocky Te Oka Bay. Listen and look for fur seals. For an the loop track through the bush with interesting farm displays cap of the main magma reservoir. In the other direction you easy option get someone to pick you up at the beach. For an and panels explaining the history of the area. The Reserve is see the alps, the plains and Kaitorete Spit. Trapped in behind extra challenge climb back up the 500m to Bossu Road again! the former school grounds and the site of the old schoolhouse, the spit is Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, an enormous lagoon that requires mechanical intervention to keep a drainage For a leg stretch followed by lunch, tramp up Okuti Track to marked with a metal structure and bench, makes a nice spot for channel open to the sea. Closer is the smaller Te Roto o Hilltop. You need to cross the State Highway if heading to the a picnic with views across the bay. From here you can exit the Wairewa/Lake Forsyth, which must also be artificially drained. Tavern, so hold tight onto kids here. Reserve back to School Road via a short farm track. When European settlers first set up their whaling station at The most challenging tramp is Panama Rock, where steep tony Bay Peak Peraki Bay in the 1830s they called this lake Ma-ori Harbour, rough tracks make a circuit alongside a huge lava dyke as it was still possible to get a small boat in through its natural and climb the massive dome it once fed. Extend your visit Robinsons Bay Story Trail entrance. By 1900, Kaitorete Spit had closed it off, and the overnight at the Langer Lodge hut or the family campground Canterbury Plain continues to grow even today. (opening late 2018). Youth groups may wish to stay at the new Environmental Education Centre in the former Le Bons school. At Panama Rock you can observe the spectacular effects of volcanic activity up close. The rock itself is a large lava dome, which was fed by a dyke that cuts the landscape to A landscape transformed hristchurch the southwest. The lava dome erupted within the crater of an Robinsons Bay was once heavily wooded, with kahikatea Akaroa oad eroded scoria cone; this resulted in the dome having an inner dominating the valley floor and ót tara up the slopes. Mäori 75 core and an outer stage. The inner core is characterised by visited the bay to collect the flounder flourishing in the shallow platey (layered) jointing, which formed as the dome expanded water. Once Banks Peninsula’s first sawmill opened here in like a balloon. The outer dome formed vertical columns as the 1855, it took just 25 years to strip the whole valley bare. Pasture chool oad dome grew and then cooled over time. replaced the trees as European settlers started small dairy 1 Loess soil covers over much of the volcanic rock. Loess soil farms, grew cocksfoot grass and grazed sheep.