Time: 2 hours
Distance: 5 km
Start: Ahuriri Bush, Summit Road
Finish: Sign of the Bellbird, Summit Road
Date: Friday 13th November 2020
An absolutely stunning Christchurch day. We left one car at the Sign of the Bellbird car park and drove the other about 10 minutes further along Summit Road in the direction of Gebbies Pass. The track start is a bit hard to find: you drive over two cattle stops (I think), past the Omahu carpark, past the Ahuriri Reserve sign and then just before the third cattle stop there is a track sign on the left, nicely hidden in the bush, and space for about two cars to park.
This is officially the start of the 20 km Crater Rim Walkway (CRW), which goes all the way to Godley Head sidling along the edge of the now extinct Lyttelton Volcano. This volcano complex was formed 11-6 million years ago (pretty specific) and Lyttelton Harbour is what is left of the crater. Our plan is to walk it in six sections, today being section one.
CRW 1: Ahurihi bush to Sign of the Bellbird
CRW 2: Sign of the Bellbird to Sign of the Kiwi
CRW 3: Sign of the Kiwi to Mt. Vernon
CRW 4: Mt. Vernon to Mt. Cavendish
CRW 5: Mt Vernon to Evans Pass
CRW 6: Evans Pass to Godley Head
We set off up the hill through the native fuscia trees which are currently nicely in flower. After about 15 minutes we came to an unmarked fork in the track (easily missed) and headed on up the hill towards Coopers Knob. There is a bit of rock scrambling and gorse grappling involved here, plus we almost got lost - but it's well worth the effort because after only about 15 minutes we were standing at the Trig on top with the most awesome 360 degrees panoramic views.
Coopers Knob is the highest point in the Port Hills (573 m) and is named after Daniel Cooper (1785 - 1853), a Sydney convict turned successful merchant. The Māori name for Coopers Knob is O Mawete which means "place of Mawete". Mawete was a Ngāti Māmoe chief, killed in this area (via the blow of a mere) by Ngāi Tahu invaders from the north around 1720.
Blissfully unaware of this violent history, we lingered on the knob for a bit because it was just too beautiful to rush. Eventually we headed back to the ridge and joined the Crater Rim Walkway again. The track undulates along the rim in a most pleasant way. Sometimes there are rocky outcrops and tussock and sometimes the track meanders through bush.
Our stroll was only interrupted when we came across a high tech camera bag, sitting unattended on a rock near the road, mostly empty apart from a battery pack and some unidentifiable gadgety things. We were wondering where the owners were and what we should do with the bag, when two motorbikes roared up. It turned out that the camera bag was actually a drone bag and the drone was mid-flight but on its way to us. We stayed for the landing and reunification of owner, drone and bag and then continued on our way.
All too quickly we were back at the Sign of the Bellbird car park so we decided to have a quick look at the Sign of the Bellbird. This is the stone frame of a house built by Harry Ell in 1914. He planned a summit road with a series of rest houses along the crater rim. The Sign of the Bellbird was once a caretakers house and tearooms. After the 1940's the house fell into disrepair but was eventually resurrected as a shelter. You can still see where the fireplace was.
We headed to Governor's Bay where we fluked the best table at the Harbour House Cafe with the best views through the nikau palm to the harbour beyond. We also all ordered the best food for lunch (smashed avocados and roasted eggplant). And finally, to top it all off, we divulged our current and past talents: a long jumper, a dancer, a Russian icon painter and a wannabe jeweller. Nice.
