The Christchurch to Little River Rail Trail is a cycleway and walkway from Hornby to Little River following much of the Little River Branch railway line which operated from 1875 until 1967. The trail passes through rural areas and settlements on the Canterbury Plains, skirts past the massive flanks of the ancient volcanoes which make up Banks Peninsula, and hugs the shoreline of a vast lagoon, Te Waihora or Lake Ellesmere (the largest lagoon in mainland New Zealand), and its smaller neighbour, Te Roto o Wairewa or Lake Forsyth.

Te Ara Pātaka, also known as the Summit Walkway, is a 2½ day tramping track linking the Lyttelton and Akaroa craters along the spectacular summit ridgeline of Banks Peninsula. Developing this ridgeline tramp and a network of tracks leading to it from valleys below has been a flagship project for the Trust, working in partnership with the Department of Conservation.

Our new Nature Trail at the Rod Donald Hut is now open!

Te Ahu Pātiki is 500ha of iconic land including the summits of Mt Herbert/ Te Ahu Patiki and Mt Bradley, the two highest points in the Christchurch/Ōtautahi district.

Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust is proud to have facilitated this project, is grateful for the huge public support, and has now handed the land on as a Conservation Park to its new guardians, the Te Ahu Pātiki Charitable Trust.

Whaka Ora Pest Project will coordinate and deliver predator control and invasive pest plant management in various parks, reserves and on private land within the Lyttelton/Whakaraupō area.

Native Forest carbon sequestration interface research. Banks Peninsula – providing permanent native forest carbon sinks for Christchurch.

Te Kākahu Kahukura is a large scale collaboration of landowners, residents, organisations and agencies whose vision is to see the Southern Port Hills area become a thriving and resilient indigenous forest supporting native flora and fauna by 2050; a taonga for Ōtautahi.

The opening of the Ōtamahua family style tramping hut on Quail Island was celebrated in conjunction with the 2018 Banks Peninsula Walking Festival.

Forging a new partnership with Living Springs Camp and Conference Centre at Allandale has been a very positive step. The Trust appreciated the extent of Living Springs commitment to native biodiversity restoration, the number of young people who are immersed in that biodiversity at their camps, and the willingness of Living Springs to extend the Lyttelton Head to Head Walkway across their property. Read more…

After working through this project since 2016 the Trust has now secured public access and biodiversity on this popular Akaroa walking track, as well as on-selling the property to provide a new home for two local families.