Looking over Lyttelton Harbour, from Mt. Herbert

I was very lucky today, to join in on a very special walk. Our group left our cars at the Purau Saddle, and made our way up along the Monument Track, up to Mt. Herbert/Te Ahu Patiki (919m). Other groups took different routes to the top of Mt. Herbert, and I think there were 5 different routes taken altogether. The reason? Today was the official opening of Te Ara Pãtaka, the Summit Walkway along the tops of Banks Peninsula. Yes, there were speeches, but all fascinating, and we learnt lots about the history of the past century, when Harry Ells kicked off walking on the hills. 

 The views were absolutely spectacular, and we were so lucky to have a clear day. The winds were something else though, gale force at times, and I wondered if I was going to be blown over a couple of times! All worth it though. I loved it.
For more information about walks on the fabulous Banks Peninsula, have a look at www.bpwalks.co.nz 

I looked at the Pacer app on my phone when we got back to the car. 20,000 paces - it was a fairly decent walk!