Rakahuri Trail West

Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Distance: 6.8 km
Start: Railway bridge, end of East Belt Road.
Finish: Same place - it's loopy
Date: Friday 25th September

The Rakahuri Trail (one of the Waimakariri Eastern Cycle Trails) runs along the southbank of the Rakahuri/Ashley river from Waikuku Beach to Rangiora and beyond. In September 2024, we cycled the eastern section from the coast to Rangiora (FW blog post here). Today we were walking the western section from Rangiora to beyond. This excursion should proabably have started at the railway bridge, but we ended up parking about kilometer further west. My bad.

Despite a rainy forecast, and despite Thursday night 9 to 5 beers from 7 to 11,  it was a sterling turnout today. Actually, the skies were blue and the sun was exceeding expectations by fairly beating down as we started the trail. Beautiful! The path soon went under the Cones Road Bridge with its interesting graffiti. Then we entered an exotic forest with willowish trees and a periwinkle carpet for a forest floor. By the way, that's the periwinkle (or winkle) plant Vinca major - not to be confused with the periwinkle gastropod, Littorina Littorea. 




It's a shared trail that meanders pleasantly in and out of the trees. I was sometimes keeping an eye out for fast bikes approaching, but mostly just catching up on the goss. It's been awhile since we have all been together for a natter. A black piwakwaka gave us a bit of a powhiri and at some point the track forked and we got to the river lookout where we spied the braids of the Rakahuri. 


The Ashley/Rakahuri River has origins in the Puketeraki Range of the Canterbury Foothills. It winds its way through the narrow Ashley Gorge, then braids across the Canterbury Plains, before exiting the coast via the estuary at Waikuku Beach. The river is a wāhi taonga (treasured place) and traditional mahinga kai (food gathering area) for local Ngāi Tahu hāpū, Tūāhuriri. Extensive flood mitigation and farming has modified and polluted the river since European arrival. Nowadays the area is part of the Rakahuri Regional Park - managed by Environment Canterbury and Mahaanui Kurataiao Ltd.



The track branched in various places and it wasn't always clear which direction to choose, so we stayed more-or-less as close to the river as possible. At the point of return, Carolien flourished a tupperware container filled to the brim with home-baking: banana mini-muffins each with a chocolate button (nipple) on top. How wonderful! We munched and nattered happily. We tried to return on alternative tracks more-or-less. Tracks always look different on the return anyway so it didn't matter too much. This time I did notice white-flowered broom. 








Back at the car park it was just starting to spit. A madwoman was outside her campervan having a rave to herself (or perhaps she was just on the phone?). This was a bit unsettling so we quickly got into the car and drove away. In Rangiora, we checked out Fresca Mediterranean Cafe (where the owner does the baking) and ate delicious things like Portugese custard tarts. Yum.







Location: Rangiora, New Zealand