The Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust and the Department of Conservation have collaborated to clear three important tracks of gorse and broom in time for late summer walking.
The three tracks connect three popular recreation destinations – The Sign of the Packhorse Hut, Orton Bradley Park and the prominent landmark Mt Herbert/ Te Ahu Pātiki. These tracks have been overgrown and hard, if not impossible, to follow for several years and after the earthquakes other places had taken priority.
The historic Sign of the Packhorse Hut is one of the best places for first-time trampers to head to for their first overnight stay in a back country hut. Mt. Herbert/ Te Ahu Pātiki is the highest summit on Banks Peninsula, and Orton Bradley Park provides a range of recreational opportunities with something for everyone. With the clearance of these tracks, the Summit Walkway is now fully open all the way from Gebbies Pass all the way to Hilltop. A practical one or two day loop is to start at Orton Bradley Park, stay overnight at the Packhorse Hut and then return to Orton Bradley after a visit to Mt. Herbert.
For more information on these tracks visit the DOC website or visitor centre in Hagley Park.
A happy DOC ranger; Craig Alexander inspects the newly cleared tracks with Suky Thompson of the Rod Donald Trust.
Track clearance is now completed thanks to Niall Mugan of Keystone Ecology and Ian Luxford and his team from Orton Bradley Park and the private landowners who very kindly allow the public to cross their properties.