| Leader | Mentor | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Peter | Chris S | Shirls |
| Alternates | Ali | Bev | Kiwan |
The walk planned for today was in the Craigieburn Valley – an area forecast to be wet and windy. We decided to walk instead from Heathcote over the Bridle Path to Lyttelton, west along the Coastal Path to Pony Point Reserve and back to the gondola base station via Stan Helms track. This is a distance of about 15 km and takes about 5 hours including stops for morning tea and lunch.
The weather was forecast to be warm with a strong northwest wind developing. Although it was very early spring, summer clothing was in evidence as our group of 32 tackled the steep Bridle Path track to Lyttelton. This track inevitably brings thoughts of the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of European settlers who walked this path from Lyttelton in the 1850s to make their home in Christchurch. Many were families with young children and babies, and all would have recently endured a very long and uncomfortable trip from Great Britain in a sailing ship.
Helpful club members gave me many suggestions of topics to include in this report – thank you. First was the man seen running backwards down the track towards Lyttelton – who knows why? Second was the large number of cats and dogs we met along the way from Lyttelton to Pony Point, including one cat with collar and lead that was cradled in the arms of its owner as she walked towards us.
Pony Point raised many questions. Why is it called Pony Point – I don’t know! What was a lady with a portable sound system doing there – apparently checking the area for a forthcoming wedding. What’s that Maori carving on a post all about – it’s a new ‘pou whenua’ unveiled in December 2024 to replace the one vandalised in 2021. When was the track from Cass Bay to Pony Point upgraded with a new alignment, hard surfacing and sturdy timber stairs – probably earlier this year. Why have 51 trees been planted along a memorial track?
The 51 trees were planted in 2020 in memory of the 51 people killed in the 2019 mosque attacks. According to news reports, one of the victims was 14 year old Sayyad Milne who lived in Corsair Bay and attended Cashmere High School. Sayyad’s futsal team members aided by the Muslim community and the Cass Bay Reserve Committee decided to plant the trees close to Sayyad’s home and in a tranquil place overlooking the sea – Pony Point Reserve.
Despite an extensive internet search including Papers Past, I’ve been unable to find the origin of the name Pony Point. I’ve reached the conclusion that the name might not date from the 1850s but is maybe of more recent origin. I’ll leave it to others to carry on the search for the answer!
After lunch on the grass in front of the ‘copper house’ in a calm and warm Cass Bay, we returned to Lyttelton and then went up to the Summit Road on the Stan Helms Track. On the way to the start of the track, we paused at ‘Three Piece Suite Reserve’ for a group photo. Climbing up to the Summit Road was hard work in the warm and now blustery weather but the rest stops called by leader Peter were welcome and the views of Lyttelton were good. A steep descent down the Bridle Path with its slippery loose shingle brought us back to our bus at the gondola base station. Waiting for us there was the group of 12 who’d finished their walk in Lyttelton and bussed through the tunnel.
Text by Warren
