This loop hike round the Awaroa/Godley Head peninsula begins and ends in the quaint seaside hamlet known as Te Onepoto in Māori: "short beach", or, in English: Taylor's Mistake - a great name of hazy provenance.
Off I go!
On the north side of the peninsula, the path follows the shoreline, and we try not to think about earthquakes and crumbling cliffs.
The overcast day was giving us a muted color palette, but the succulents were going off. Also going off: shirtless runner bros.
Eventually the sun did come through a bit... unfortunately, shade was scarce on this hike, and all the good resting spots were taken.
Around the eastern tip of the peninsula, we come upon some historic WWII gun "eplacements" - you might be wondering, wait, did NZ see any action in WWII? And the answer would be yes! German subs supposedly attempted to mine the entrance to Lyttleton harbor, but the big guns on this hill scared them off.
More WWII-era buildings on the southern flank of the peninsula.
Whew. Made it back to Taylor's mistake! What a great hike, about 2.5 hours, not too hilly, many points of interest! I guess I've become one of those dads that stops and reads the historical markers. But, are you truly a dad until you repeat the information to someone else with an air of authority?
Hike map:
New Boot Goofin'
I got some bona fide hiking boots and so I decided to break them in hiking in the hills today, aiming for the big antennae at the Mt. Pleasant Scenic Reserve. It was a great day to get out into the tussocks!
Toward the top of the hill, you can see Lyttleton Harbor - and Diamond Harbor across the bay - within the eroded crater of an ancient, giant, (hopefully) defunct volcano that forms the Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch.
Further along the rim of the crater is the visitor centre a the top of the Christchurch gondola... target of a future hike?
Made it to the big antenna! Christchurch city smattering in the distance. Couldn't see the Alps today, because of the clouds. There are seemingly limitless trails up here!
Awa Awa Rata Reserve hike
I woke up feeling slightly better today after having been sick with a head cold for a few days. So naturally I decided to go on a solo hike in bad shoes. We had previously attempted to make it up to Mt. Hutt but didn't make it for various car battery and 5-year-old battery reasons. Today, child-free and fully charged, I made my way past the Rakaia river and up into the foothills.
It was a cloudy day, and I was getting excited that I might be able to get up into the mists.
From the DOC website: "[The track] passes through beech/tawhairauriki forest before climbing to alpine herb and tussock/wï communities". Apparently I was too busy taking selfies to fully capture the beech forest, but I assure you it was magnificent.
I did snap this picture of a higher-elevation beech community... very obvious is the sooty black mold on the trunks of the trees, which is, I learned later, part of a "honeydew system" where scale insects drink sap and secrete honeydew, which drips onto the tree, causing the sooty mold to grow. The mold feeds many forest insects and birds, and doesn't appear to harm the trees. Fascinating!
On the other side of the hill, there is a short side track that brings you out to Pudding Hill stream, where silvery-leafed trees and foxglove dot the marshy flats.
Spent a few contemplative moments on this rocky bank.
I didn't make it up to the tussocks - I was in sneakers and as a n00b I didn't want to push it. Next time I definitely want to make it up to the ski field road!
