| Leader | Mentor | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Janice | Warren | Judy R |
| Alternates | Pip | Ali | Tessa |
Statistics: Statistics: distance 14km, elevation gain 700m, time 5hrs
After a few days of showery weather, tramping day dawned bright and clear if somewhat chilly at -1 C at 8am. It was a few degrees warmer in Sumner and as the standard group of 23 walkers headed up the Flowers Track, winter jackets were soon being shed.
The track along the edge of the cliffs in the Whitewash Reserve and the (sometimes steep) track down to Taylor’s Mistake beach brought sunny views of a calm sea as the track to Boulder Bay and Godley Head stretched out before us.
After morning tea at the beach, we headed along the coastal track to Boulder Bay where we took a short detour down to the small holiday houses clustered there. As we headed up to Godley Head, we met another group of walkers from the Over Forties Tramping Club heading in the opposite direction.
Since 2021, the area around the World War II buildings at Godley Head has been ‘out of bounds’ as the Department of Conservation dealt with asbestos contamination. In August 2024, and after a clean-up costing $1.4 million, the area was re-opened and today we were able to walk through the historic site again. The site is a significant World War II coastal defence heritage site with restored gun emplacements and other military heritage structures. There is also a DoC campsite and a four-bed cottage (Lighthouse Cottage) which is bookable. We spent some time exploring the various structures and reading the new information boards before moving on to lunch at the nearby car park.
After lunch it was a 1hr 50min walk along the undulating Crater Rim Walkway to Evans Pass where David was waiting with the bus. There was a bit of mud, but everyone enjoyed the views across an almost deserted Lyttelton Harbour to Purau and Diamond Harbour townships and a skiff of snow on Mt Herbert. A very enjoyable and interesting walk with a few hilly bits to get the lungs and heart working.
While the 23-strong standard group was walking to Evans Pass from Sumner, the 14-member alternative group had been taken up to Evans Pass by bus and was doing the same walk in the reverse direction. After leaving the Godley Head car park they headed straight down the hill for lunch at Scott’s Hut just as the standard group was exploring the Godley Head buildings, so we managed to miss each other.
Both groups got back together at the Sumner clock tower, and we headed back to Bishopdale in the bus feeling pleasantly weary after a good day out.
Text by Warren
