up there

Lucky as we are, to have Hagley Park for winter walks we are even luckier to have the Port Hills.  And our english forefathers didn't even have to 'arrange' these for us as in Hagley Park, because they were already there!  The result of volcanic activity millions of years ago, which violently flung up molten rock from the sea-bed, forming the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula as we know it today.  

The hills which we find so convenient for our Saturday morning stroll were formed from the lava flows of the of the thankfully, extinct volcano which forms Lyttelton Harbour. And the Port Hills are a circular arc at the north west edge of the crater where Banks Peninsula meets the Canterbury Plains.

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 When volcanic activity finally cooled, it left a rather odd hilly circular landform jutting out from the plains into the Pacific ocean, and was formed from 2 separate volcanic episodes which left two huge craters allowing the sea to rush in - Akaroa and Lyttelton Harbours!  The hills which were formed from the lava flows of the of the thankfully, extinct volcano creating Lyttelton Harbour, became known as the Port Hills.   Forming a circular arc at the inland edge of the crater where Banks Peninsula meets the Canterbury Plains, these are the hills which we find so convenient for our Saturday morning stroll. 

Muddy paths like this can be lethal and require a bit of care to navigate as they are very slippery. I tackled this one on my own and I did slip and slide a bit! But I still enjoyed this green tunnel, as I felt I was up the hill, away from the road and civilisation and 'in the wild'.

And rocky tracks can also be hazardous too, dodging roots and stumbling over rocks as we make our way up. but on a good day when the sun shines and all is right with the world we will all attempt this one.

It's not that much of a stroll any more actually!  The Saturday morning 'stroll' up the hill was much easier a few years ago.   But we are all growing older, so I would call it a climb rather than a stroll as most of us puff and pant our way up through these paths to reach the top.  These days we have to cope with the odd ailment or 2 which might slow us down - a hip, a knee, lungs, heart - whatever.   But of course we don't let these things stop us.  'It's good for us' we tell each other  'keeps us young and agile'.    So on we go!
​Whether it's rocky paths or wintry muddy tracks, it's all up.   We plough upwards as younger more agile walkers streak past us, calling out a cheery hello as they power on up, beyond us and out of sight.  But we don't mind - we just keep on keeping on at our own pace!  

We pass through an area of exotic coniferous forest - but note the regrowth of natives as the understory, which has regenerated naturally under the shelter of the exotics.

On we go! This one feels like the stairway to heaven! I have to stop to catch my breath at least once as we ascend these steps.

The vegetation always intrigues me.  We walk through introduced coniferous forest where you could imagine you are somewhere in North America and then suddenly you are into New Zealand secondary growth native bush  where you feel quite at home.  There may still be pockets of original native bush in the nooks and crannys of valleys in these hills, but the areas we go through are second growth natives as more of these hills are regenerating and in some areas being replanted with natives.  Most of this deliberate planting has been done by volunteers, eager to recapture the original hills, as they may have been before we Europeans cleared such a lot of the natural vegetation in order to develop farmland.  While most of us enjoy the authenticity of native planting, exotics are also valuable in helping to stop erosion, and keeping  the Port Hills intact. 

Apart from the odd muddy side track off the beaten path, these paths and tracks on the Port Hills are well maintained, furnished with viewing platforms and lookouts such as these. The native bush is regenerating so quickly in some areas, that it has become difficult to maintain the a view through it.

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While walking under the tall shelter of exotic pine forest, it is good to see native bush regenerating which is endemic to these hills, such as Pittosporum and Pseudopanax aboreum.

Track makers have been careful to protect as much native vegetation as possible by building around the young trees, rather than cutting the trees down to make way for a built environment as in this viewing platform. We like that!

And we also pass by native planted areas which have been given a helping hand possibly by volunteers and are now thriving in their new habitat. These include Totara, Pseudopanax ferox or Lancewoods, and the green Astelia. Here, this young planting is still low enough to be able to look beyond it to a glimpse of Christchurch and the Plains.

And on a sunny winters day this is our reward!

And on a cloudy day there is often still a reward!