Time: 4 hours and 24 minutes
Distance: 13.8 km
Start: Bridle Path car park
Finish: Same place, it's there and back more or less
Date: Friday 20th February 2026
Linda Woods Reserve is a 233 ha block of land in the Port Hills - spanning the Horotane and Avoca Valleys between Rapaki Track (West Gate entrance) and Castle Rock Reserve (Northeast Gate entrance). Once called Tussock Hill Farm, the land was bought for $1.8 million in 2018 by the Summit Road Society with the help of a couple of generous members. One was current president Bill Woods who donated $600K on condition that the reserve be named after his deceased wife Linda, who was an avid Port Hills hiker. The Summit Road Society hope to restore the reserve to its former dry lowland podocarp forest state. Various organisations and community groups are in the process of planting 95,000 trees. Ka rawe! A map of all the new tracks can be downloaded here: pdf map.
We met at 9am in the Bridle Path car park. Setting off up the hill, our conversation quickly lapsed into pithy topics: star signs, sex and death. About two minutes up the Bridle Path on the right, there are a series of unmarked gates that look like a no-go zone. We went through all of these, and pretty soon we were on a muddy track which runs along a contour above a tall wire fence. The fence is protection against rock-fall from above. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of it all. Nevermind. In the 2011 earthquake, large boulders streamed down this hill.
The contour took us above Tunnel Road all the way to the Northeast Gate entrance to the Linda Woods Reserve. The gate was almost off its hinges but we could shimmy through no problem. This is where Jack's Track starts.
Sheep watched us carefully as we crossed the Horotane Valley and rounded the headland to the pylons above Duncan Park. Here, through high gates, the track climbs above the Avoca Valley to the "tarn" (a.k.a. Avoca Dam).
Just past the tarn is the Kotare Track junction. From here, Jack's Track climbs steeply then levels out below Summit Road. We arrived at the West Gate entrance of the Linda Wood Reserve, bordering the busy Rapaki Track. This is the end of Jack's Track.
Rather than retracing our steps, we negotiated a couple of dingbat sheep, then dropped down into the Avoca Valley on Harakeke Track. The track here was only vaguely discernable amidst high grasses. It follows the stream up through the native plantings and soon we were back on Jack's track.
At the Kotare Track junction, there was a moment when we inadvertently went off-piste. Luckily we quickly realised our error and thus avoided walking in a dingbat circle. We revisited the tarn and the pylons. The sheep watched us carefully as we crossed the Horotane Valley.
It was well past lunch time and our tummies were audibly rumbling. Time to hoof it to Silo's Cafe for mushroom and pesto frittata's plus scones. Then a quick side trip to Horotane Valley's Black Tin Shed for "blast-from-the-past" vegetables (scallopini's) and snacks for an overnight tramp (treacle bread). Yum.
