When people tell you that New Zealand has some amazing and beautiful countryside, it is easy just to brush it off. That is until you get the chance to experience it for yourself. Although I had visited New Zealand Before this hike in Godley Head was my first real experience.
In all of my travels to 33 countries, it was only the result of a need for work that I first visited New Zealand in 2011. On this occasion, I had merely one day to see anything beyond the cityscape that is Auckland. Taking a beautiful Sunday drive to visit the Coromandel Peninsula.
It was not until 2015 that I was able to cross the ditch again and visit one of Australia’s closest neighbours. My trip was primarily focused on visiting Christchurch to attend a Geocaching MEGA event. While there was a lot of exploring in and around Christchurch a full day hike around Godley Head was one of the highlights of the trip.
Godley Head
Godley head lies to the south-east of Christchurch looking over the entrance to Lyttelton Harbour. The countryside here is rather dramatic with the hillside rising out of the ocean and harbour. In some area’s there are sheer cliffs, and other’s almost gently sloping meadows.
The area has a multitude of walking and hiking tracks that do nothing more than show you the way. The walking and hiking are definitely not easy. The group I hiked with spent around four hours hiking 14km. Which of course does not sound all that difficult, but there was around 720meters of elevation gain in there was well.
Geocaching
The primary reason behind the hike being organised today was to collect some Geocaches in the area. There was a total of 23 Geocaches that were found by the group. Somewhere puzzles that had been placed specifically in the lead up to the Geocaching Event. There were also some that were already in the area beforehand as well.
Photos
I find it is best to experience the area for yourself. However, today I would like to provide you with a little inspiration to visit the area. Below are some of the photos which I captured during this hike.
Above: The view back over Godley Head towards the car park.
Above: Meeting some of the Local wildlife on Godley Head
Above & Below There are a number of old concrete bunkers and buildings around Godley Head that do add a little to the hike. Some appear interesting to explore, but not that large.
Above & Below: There are some stunning views over Lyttelton Harbour towards the southern side of the harbour.
Above: The view looking to the north from Godley Head, overlooking the beach and parts of Christchurch.
Above: Looking to the east at the highest point we hiked to. The carpark is back in this direction but behind the furthest crest, a good number of km still to walk.
I hope that you enjoyed this little gallery and would love to know if you would like to see more photo galleries like this. So if you head down and you can leave a comment, letting me know what you would like to see.
