2009. Summit Road view of Bridle Path, Mt Cavendish & Mt Pleasant, Port Hills. Lyttelton Harbour right.
2009. Summit Road view of Castle Rock, Port Hills. Christchurch & Southern Alps backdrop
2009. Summit Road view of Heathcote Valley, Avon-Heathcote Estuary, Christchurch, Pegasus Bay & Southern Alps
2009. Summit Road view of Heathcote Valley, Avon-Heathcote Estuary & Pegasus Bay
2009. Summit Road view of Bridle Path top, Mt Cavendish with Gondola Station & Mt Pleasant
2009. Bridle Path Carpark, Summit Road, by Pioneer Women Memorial Hut. Mt Cavendish with Gondola Station backdrop
2009. Pioneer Women of Canterbury Stone Plaque, Stone Hut, Bridle Path Carpark, Summit Road
A & P Show Weekend: I drove up Dyers Pass in the Port Hills, then along Summit Road to the top of Bridle Path, as I wanted to do a circular walk in Lyttelton caldera below Mt Cavendish (445m) along CAVENDISH BLUFFS TRACK, down MAJOR HORNBROOK TRACK to Lyttelton, and up BRIDLE PATH back to my car.
2009. Bridle Path Carpark view of Lyttelton Harbour & Quail island towards Gebbies Pass
2009. Bridle Path Carpark view of Diamond Harbour & Banks Peninsula peaks: Mt Evans, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
At Summit Road Bridle Path carpark, I coolpixed Saturday walkers sitting on a low wall scoffing late lunches while enjoying views of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour and Banks Peninsula.
A Brazilian tourist handed me his camera and asked me to snap him together with his Chilean friend and girlfriends, German and Japanese. They didn't want to descend Heathcote Valley Bridle Path, and asked for another track to Christchurch: "Walk up Summit Road," I said, "Past Castle Rock and The Tors till you reach Witch Hill, then go down Rapaki Track to Christchurch. It's a long way." Off they strode, fit and smiling.
2009. Bridle Path top view of WW2 Guard Hut, Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument
2009. Bridle Path top view of WW2 Guard Hut roof, Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans, The Monument & Mt Herbert
2009. Bridle Path top view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert, Mt Bradley & Quail Island
2009. Bridle Path Carpark Tourist view of Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument, Banks Peninsula
2009. Bridle Path Carpark Tourists
2009. Emily Rose Jacobs Bench, Bridle Path Carpark. Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley backdrop
I coolpixed the stone hut memorial to early British settlers and Jane Deans Bench overlooking Heathcote Valley. A new Emily Rose Jacobs Bench overlooked Banks Peninsula.
I snapped 360 degree views: Castle Rock; Bridle Path down Heathcote Valley; Christchurch; Avon-Heathcote Estuary; Pegasus Bay; Southern Alps; Mt Cavendish with its Gondola Station on top; Mt Pleasant (499m); Bridle Path down to Lyttelton; Diamond Harbour; Mt Evans; The Monument; Mt Herbert; Mt Bradley; Quail Island; Gebbies Pass.
2009. Crater Rim Walkway from Bridle Path Carpark to Mt Cavendish Gondola Station. Mt Pleasant right
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track view of Lyttelton & Diamond Harbour. Mt Evans, The Monument & Mt Herbert backdrop
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track view of Lyttelton & Diamond Harbour. Mt Evans, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley backdrop
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track view of Lyttelton & Quail Island. Mt Bradley, Gebbies Pass & southern Port Hills backdrop
I passed a HIGH PRESSURE OIL PIPELINE BURIED... sign while walking Crater Rim Track towards Mt Cavendish together with a woman and her adult daughter.
1. MT CAVENDISH BLUFFS TRACK.
Soon we forked right towards Lyttelton along Cavendish Bluffs Track which zigzagged along a dry clay path over many wooden and stone steps through native bush below Mt Cavendish. I passed whiteywood, Melicytus ramiflorus, and avoided tree nettles, Urtica ferox, as I walked in jandals, shorts and T shirt.
2009. Tree Nettle, Urtica ferox, & Whiteywood, Melicytis ramiflorus, seen on Cavendish Bluffs Track
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track, Tuesday Trekkers Bench view of Lyttelton, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Tuesday Trekkers Plaque, Tuesday Trekkers Bench, Cavendish Bluffs Track
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track view of Mt Pleasant. Major Hornbrook Track winding past left bluff. Spot the walker
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Bradley, Quail Island, Gebbies Pass & southern Port Hills
By a fence I walked grassland for a while, then sat on a TUESDAY TREKKERS Bench with grand views of Mt Cavendish bluffs, Mt Pleasant bluffs, Lyttelton and Banks Peninsula. Bluffs were smothered by yellow broom. Mt Herbert and Mt Bradley were smothered by yellow gorse.
2009. Cavendish Bluffs Track / Major HornBrook Track junction. Mt Pleasant backdrop
2009. Mt Pleasant - Mt Cavendish Saddle view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Mt Pleasant - Mt Cavendish Saddle view of Mt Cavendish Ridge, Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Some Mt Cavendish Bluffs & Ridge Top. Southern Port Hills backdrop
2009. Mt Pleasant - Mt Cavendish Saddle view of some Mt Cavendish Bluffs & Ridge top. Gebbies Pass & southern Port Hills backdrop
2009. Zoom view of Mt Cavendish Ridge & Bluffs. Southern Port Hills backdrop
Below Mt Cavendish bluffs, I zigzagged through more native bush, avoiding more tree nettles. I crossed a stile, and at Major Hornbrook Track fork I parted company with the women who continued along Crater Rim to Mt Pleasant. I coolpixed Mt Pleasant - Mt Cavendish saddle views.
2. MAJOR HORNBROOK TRACK
Major Hornbrook Track went down a ridge below Mt Cavendish to Lyttelton. I went down more wooden steps, passed more broom, and a women passed me jogging upwards. Thereafter several family groups slogged upwards, including three panting Labradors. I was the only walker going down.
2009. Some Mt Cavendish Bluffs seen from Major Hornbrook Track. Spot the jogger.
2009. Major Hornbrook Track junction sign. Mt Pleasant backdrop
2009. Walkers slogging up Major Hornbrook Track. Mt Cavendish Gondola Station above
2009. View down Major Hornbrook Track near Lyttelton
2009. Ngaio, Myoporum lactum, Major Hornbrook Track
2009. Lower Major Hornbrook Track view of Lyttelton & Diamond Harbour. Mt Evans, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley backdrop.
2009. Lower Major Hornbrook Track zoom view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument
2009. Lower Major Hornbrook Track view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Somes Road, Lyttelton Start / End of Major Hornbrook Track
A junction sign showed CHALMERS TRACK, LYTTELTON, MT PLEASANT BLUFFS TRACK. I continued down to Lyttelton houses with Mt Pleasant bluffs on my left and Mt Cavendish ridge on my right. Near the bottom of Major Hornbrook Track I passed a grove of mature kowhai, Sophora tetraptera and Ngaio, Myoporum lactum trees with views over Lyttelton.
From Summit Road, Bridle Path carpark, it took me 1 hour 25 minutes to walk Mt Cavendish Bluffs Track to the start / end of Major Hornbrook Track at Somes Road, Lyttelton.
2009. Major Hornbrook Track Sign, Somes Road, Lyttelton
2009. Ross Terrace view of Lyttelton, Quail Island & Gebbies Pass
2009. Ross Terrace view of Lyttelton houses below Mt Pleasant slopes
LYTTELTON TO BRIDLE PATH
For the next hour I walked steep Lyttelton roads on my way to Bridle Path. Somes Road became Ross Terrace where house screening trees and shrubs were planted: deodar cedars, Douglas firs, willows, gums, pines on my right. On my left were pittosporums, cabbage trees, willows, metrosideros, dodoneas, gums. When I stopped to coolpix Lyttelton, my legs still wobbled from braking down Major Hornbrook Track.
2009. Ross Terrace view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Ross Parade / Ross Terrace view of Lyttelton, Quail Island & Gebbies Pass
2009. Ross Terrace view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour & Mt Bradley
2009. Selwyn Lane, Lyttelton view of Diamond Harbour, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Selwyn Parade / Ross Terrace intersection, Lyttelton, below Mt Cavendish
Downhill along Ross Terrace, I had views of Lyttelton Harbour; Quail Island; Mt Evans; Mt Herbert; Mt Bradley and Remarkable Dykes near Gebbies Pass.
By Ross Parade intersection a woman walking her dog passed. Beyond Selwyn Lane, I turned into Selwyn Parade, which crossed a suburban ridge below Mt Cavendish to steep Selwyn Road.
2009. Selwyn Road view up upper Hawkhurst Road, Lyttelton, below Mt Cavendish
2009. Hawkhurst Road view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Upper Hawkhurst Road view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Hawkhurst Road, Lyttelton view of Mt Cavendish with Gondola Station
I detoured up Selwyn Road then steep Hawkhurst Road to its NO EXIT end, and looked at refurbished cottages, some tasteful, some monstrosities, some demolished for bigger houses on tiny plots.
I thought those houses would shake to bits in an earthquake, or in a deluge slide down slippery Mt Cavendish slopes. (Lyttelton was badly damaged in the 2010-2011 quakes).
2009. Lower Hawkhurst Road view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument
2009. Lower Hawkhurst Road, Bridle Path Sign, Lyttelton
2009. Lower Hawkhurst Road, Lyttelton view of Diamond Harbour & Mt Evans
2009. Hawkhurst Road, Bridle Path & Flimwell Lane Signs, Lyttelton
2009. Flimwell Lane, Lyttelton
I backtracked down steep Hawkhurst Road till I found Bridle Path signs directing me uphill again. I climbed Flimwell Lane concrete steps with views over steep Lyttelton gardens. Flimwell Lane took me to steep Ticehurst Terrace which intersected with steep Bridle Path tarsealed road.
2009. Flimwell Lane view of Lyttelton houses on Mt Cavendish slopes
2009. Flimwell Lane top view of Lyttelton houses on Mt Cavendish slopes
2009. Ticehurst Terrace view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument
2009. Lyttelton Ticehurst Terrace / Bridle Path intersection view of Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Bridle Path view of Mt Cavendish
2009. Bridle Path Bench with Settler Ships Ceramic Plaques
2009. Bridle Path view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument
3. BRIDLE PATH
At the start of Bridle Path gravel, I sat on a wooden bench and coolpixed Lyttelton. A late afternoon nor'wester blew over the Southern Alps, sucking cool air from Lyttelton up Bridle Path. With the wind cooling my back, steep Bridle Path was quite pleasant.
While I admired Mt Cavendish and Mt Pleasant, two smiley Asian girls passed on their way down to Lyttelton. Thereafter I had Bridle Path to myself.
2009. Bridle Path view of Mt Pleasant & Lyttelton houses
2009. Bridle Path view of Mt Cavendish with Gondola Station
2009. Bridle Path view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Cressy Bench view of Mt Cavendish
2009. Cressy Bench view of Mt Cavendish & Mt Pleasant
2009. Cressy Bench view of Mt Pleasant & Lyttelton houses
2009. Cressy Bench view of Lyttelton housing on Mt Pleasant slope. Mt Evans backdrop
2009. Cressy Bench view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans & The Monument
At Cressy Bench (named after a settler sailing ship) I stopped for Coke and coolpix with panoramic views: Mt Cavendish; Mt Pleasant; Lyttelton; Mt Evans; Lyttelton Harbour; Diamond Harbour; The Monument; Mt Herbert; Mt Bradley; Remarkable Dykes; Gebbies Pass; Port Hills to Coopers Knobs; Charteris Bay; Quail Island; Head of the Bay.
2009. Cressy Bench view of Lyttelton & Diamond Harbour. Mt Evans, The Monument & Mt Herbert backdrop
2009. Cressy Bench view of Diamond Harbour below Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley
2009. Cressy Bench view of Quail Island with Mt Bradley, Gebbies Pass & southern Port Hills backdrop
2009. Cressy Bench view of Quail Island with Gebbies Pass & southern Port Hills backdrop
2009. Bridle Path, Oil Pipeline Buried Sign, Lyttelton side
Higher up, I passed another HIGH PRESSURE OIL PIPELINE BURIED... sign, like the sign on top. With Lyttelton shrinking the higher I climbed, I stopped at Randolph Bench (named after another settler sailing ship) for more panoramic views.
Mt Herbert and Mt Bradley gorse glowed in late afternoon sunlight. I thought early British settlers didn't have to endure gorse pollution on Banks Peninsula and broom pollution on Mt Cavendish and Mt Pleasant.
2009. Upper Bridle Path view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans, The Monument & Mt Herbert
2009. Upper Bridle Path view of Lyttelton, Quail Island, Mt Bradley & Gebbies Pass
2009. Upper Bridle Path, WW2 Guard Hut
2009. Bridle Path WW2 Guard Hut view of Lyttelton & Mt Evans
2009. Bridle Path WW2 Guard Hut view of Lyttelton & Diamond Harbour with Mt Evans, The Monument & Mt Herbert backdrop
2009. Bridle Path WW2 Guard Hut view of Lyttelton & Diamond Harbour with Mt Evans, The Monument, Mt Herbert & Mt Bradley backdrop
2009. Bridle Path WW2 Guard Hut view of Lyttelton, Mt Herbert, Mt Bradley & Quail Island
Near the top, I stopped at both WW2 concrete guard huts for more views. It took me 40 minutes to climb the gravel section of Bridle Path from Lyttelton to Summit Road.
2009. Bridle Path top view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Evans, The Monument & Mt Herbert
2009. Bridle Path top view of Lyttelton, Diamond Harbour, Mt Herbert, Mt Bradley & Quail Island
2009. Bridle Path top view of Quail Island & Gebbies Pass
2009. Crater Rim Walkway view of Bridle Path Carpark & Pioneer Women Memorial Hut. Summit Road & The Tors, Port Hills backdrop
At Summit Road carpark, the hard nor'wester waved tussocks and buffeted my car. A Hertz van pulled up, filled with gawping codgers. Two younger women emerged and briefly stood by Jane Deans Bench to snap two men-in-black striding down Heathcote Valley Bridle Path. The women scuttled back, while I cooled in the wind.
2009. Summit Road / Jane Deans Bench view of Castle Rock, Avon-Heathcote Estuary, Christchurch, Canterbury Plains & Southern Alps
2009. Bridle Path top view of Heathcote Valley, Avon-Heathcote Estuary, Christchurch, Canterbury Plains, Pegasus Bay & Southern Alps
On New Years Day, late afternoon, Leah and I walked Cavendish Bluffs Track roughly downhill from Mt Pleasant - Mt Cavendish saddle to the top of Bridle Path. It was humid in bush below bluffs, as the temperature was 31 degrees Centigrade. The settler memorial hut by Summit Road gave welcome shade from the dessicating nor'wester, and pleasant views.
We returned via Summit Road, not wanting to zigzag upwards in the heat through humid bush back to our car. Below Mt Cavendish roadside cliffs we stopped by gondola poles, and watched gondolas stop & start while passengers came and went above and below.
Summit Road by gondola poles had a roadside barrier stopping wayward cars smashing gondola apparatus. Further up Summit Road, I wondered why Christchurch City Council hadn't spent money providing barriers at dangerous corners with sheer drops and wrecks of three cars on steep slopes below? We completed our loop in about two hot hours.
Coda: 2010-2011 earthquakes caused Castle Rock rockfalls and extensive quake damages to Lyttelton, Heathcote Valley and Christchurch. Summit Rd was closed while geotech people made rockfall hazards safe.
Major Hornbrook Track, 22.02.11 quake: A man was killed by rockfall, en route Christchurch to Lyttelton.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
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