The Akaroa Walk begins with a walk briefing at 9am at our office in central Christchurch where you meet fellow walkers and your friendly local guide, your companions for the next 3 days.

From the city, we drive to the foot of the Port Hills and take a Gondola ride to the top (the easy way up the hill). At 445 metres above sea level, the views from the top are breathtaking and give you a great opportunity to get some panoramic shots before the walking starts. Looking down into Lyttelton Harbour- Te Whakaraupō, the first of the 2 harbours we visit on the Akaroa Walk, it’s easy to imagine the forces of nature at work that shaped this ancient volcanic cone.

The first section of the Crater Rim Walkway takes us around the harbour rim, away from the gondola station and towards Mt Pleasant, with expansive views back over Christchurch city and down over Lyttelton.

From here is a short downhill to the historic WW2 gun emplacements, with views out to the head of the harbour and the Pacific Ocean. On reaching Evans Pass we pass through Rapanui Bush, a small remnant of native bush where you can often see fantails flitting among the trees.

We continue our descent along the Captain Thomas track, named in honour of Captain Thomas, the surveyor who chose the town sites of Lyttelton, Sumner and Christchurch and also laid out the street plans for the new Canterbury Settlement.

We then arrive into Sumner Village, a pleasant seaside settlement on the outskirts of Christchurch and our location for the night.

There may be some time after our arrival to enjoy a stroll through the village, promenade along the beachfront or perhaps a swim or an ice cream before we head out to a local restaurant for dinner.

To start our day we circumnavigate Lyttelton Harbour in the vehicle, with a drive from Sumner, around the edge of the harbour to our trail head at Western Valley Road. The drive takes us through several small bays and coves popular with locals for water sports and summer picnics and we pass by many holiday homes before climbing up Western Valley road to the Purau-Port Levy Saddle where todays walk starts.

Today you will cover a distance of 16.5kms. The track leads you up to Mt Fitzgerald where you will experience unsurpassed panoramic views of the small, secluded bays of Banks Peninsula.

From the summit you will follow undulating walkways to Mt Sinclair where the scenery continues to unfold below you. In particular, you will delight in seeing Port Levy, Pigeon Bay, Lake Forsyth and (in the distance) Kaitorete Spit. You will also get your first glimpse of Akaroa Harbour and the Onawe Peninsula.

After a transfer from Duvauchelle, along the Summit Road above Akaroa Harbour we take a short walk amongst the totara forest on the Otepatotu Reserve track to warm up your legs. From the Otepatotu Reserve its on to the old Le Bons Bay access track by which we descend into Takamatua and then walk to your accommodation in Akaroa via Childrens Bay. You should have time to enjoy the sights of Akaroa township for the remainder of the afternoon.

Tonight you will gather and celebrate the completion of the walk at one of Akaroa’s best restaurants… where you will relax and reminisce about your successful trip across Banks Peninsula.

This morning after breakfast at a local restaurant we drive you back to Christchurch arriving at approximately 12:30.