Time: 4 hours and 45 minutes (Jetty to summit: 2 hours and 45 minutes; Summit to Jetty: 2 hours)
Distance: 16.38 km
Start: Diamond Harbour Jetty
Finish: Same place (it's there and back)
Date: Friday 16th April 2021
Mt. Herbert (Te Ahu Pātiki 919 m) can be approached from about five different directions (possibly more):
Mt Herbert via Purau Saddle and the Monument
Mt Herbert via Port Levy Saddle
Mt Herbert via Orton Bradley Park
Mt Herbert via Kaituna Valley
Mt Herbert via Diamond Harbour
Today we were attempting the latter which is probably the most grueling because it involves a 900 meter climb from sea level to summit. The Māori name for Mt Herbert is Te Ahu Pātiki which means "shaped like a flounder". The summit is possibly the oldest pā site on Banks Peninsular and, amazingly, Chatham Islanders say their ancestors came from the foot of Te Ahu Pātiki.
We donned our face masks and stepped aboard the 8:50 am ferry at the Lyttelton Wharf. Ten minutes later we had hooned across the bay and were stepping off the boat at the Stoddard point Diamond harbour jetty. The water was like a mirror and skies were clear and blue. A stunning morning.
A short walk up the road and then a right turn onto an unmarked track takes you past the yachts and down to the first bay. There is a horribly placed toilet block there (which was decidedly convenient at that minute). The Mt Herbert track starts halfway along the beach and goes straight up the valley through native bush and korimako (bellbird) chatter. We were chattering too, practising our Te Reo.
We crossed Marine Drive and then continued through community plantings up to Bayview Rd. A blackbird fight resulted in one bird crash landing on the ground near us. It lay there, stunned, right in the middle of the path. We had a quick round of discussions about a rescue operation - or perhaps a mercy killing. Should we pick it up or can blackbirds go from horizontal to vertical on their own steam or do they get stuck like sheep? We decided to leave it be and do any required rescuing (or mercy killing) on the way back down.
We crossed Bayview Road to the sign saying "Mt Herbert Track" and "Report Any Wallaby Sightings". From here the track continues up the valley over private farmland in a relentless vertical ascent, but the views back down to the harbour are spectacular.
 |
| New Zealand pipit (pīhoihoi) |
We came to a muddy bog, possibly once a watering hole, and, low and behold, a sheep was stuck in the middle of it. Could we do a rescue (messy) or perhaps a mercy killing (also messy)? We lamented that Jo (our sheep rescue specialist) was not around. We had seen a farm bike in the distance so we traversed along to the ridge and coo-wee'd across to him. Soon he was motoring in our direction with five farm dogs sharing the front seat. The dogs were literally spilling off the bike and barking at us like Billy-o. We noticed that one of them was a small fluffy white thing. Possibly a bichon frise, somewhat similar to a slipper. We explained the sheep predicament and offered our help but the farmer said "She'll be right". I had an odd twinge of relief mixed with regret. It would have been quite something to get in that bog and rescue the sheep.
We continued on up the hill feeling pious. We could see the bichon frise circling the bog and the farmers hat bobbing around above the mud, all the action regrettably obscured by the tussocks. But he wouldn't be having an easy time of it. Perhaps he would have to do the mercy killing after all and we might be able to score a couple of lamb chops for dinner tonight.
The sun was beating down and it was fabulously hot like a mid-summers day. Slogging up the ridge, I was starting to flag. Just then, two dapper septuagenarians came jaunting down the hill looking fairly fresh and dandy. This was not only inspiring but perked me up quite a lot. A short time later, a mere two hours and forty five minutes from the jetty, we were standing on the summit of Te Ahu Pātiki admiring the view. Ka mau te wehe!!
The descent was two hours from summit to sea shore. No stuck sheep or blackbirds to be seen. The clouds rolled in and there were a couple of drops of rain. We missed the ferry by about 10 minutes so headed to the diamond harbour cafe for hot and cold coffees.
A lady at the next table, had her beloved dog (possibly the same or another bichon frise) on her lap, head drooping onto the table. The dog that is. While fairly adorable, it was also ironic that, on our way up the hill, we had been discussing the whole "should dogs be allowed in cafes" topic. A colleague of mine is a microbiologist and, as part of her weirdly chosen field of research, she tested 46 healthy dogs and found campylobacter in the pooh of over half of them. I just hoped for the sake of future customers that that cute little pooch had not been licking it's arse lately. I was going to relay all this information to the owners but she was so happy with her charge and besides her husband (or was it her son) looked like a thug.
We got on the 3 pm ferry and headed back to Lyttelton over choppy seas. An awesome walk.
