Mt Pleasant to Scarborough on the Christchurch 360 Trail
The weather forecast for the mountains was not supposed to be very good on the Saturday, so I decided I would go walk another of the
Christchurch 360 sections I need to complete.
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| Entrance to the Estuary from near Shag Rock |
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| The eastern beach suburbs...Mt Pleasant, Redcliffs, Sumner and Scarborough |
Mt Pleasant to Scarborough on the Christchurch 360:
This pathway is mostly on footpaths but is is actually quite nice as you have water right next to you for the whole length of the trip. I parked my car at the Mt Pleasant Yacht Club car park and set out for points East.....
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| Car-park next to the Mt Pleasant Yacht Club |
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| Ferrymead end of the Estuary |
Not all parts of the Coastal Pathway are completed, the section between McCormicks Bay and Clifton Terrace is still under construction
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| The Coastal Pathway...a work in progress.... |
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| The estuary, Clifton Terrace and Southshore Spit |
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| More of the Coastal Pathway at Redcliffs |
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| Jon with Clifton Terrace in the background |
I noticed a sign along here which said that this next section of the Coastal Pathway is due for construction in November 2016...watch this space.
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| Unformed part of the Coastal Pathway |
You can see why there have been various schemes over the years to build a bridge from Sumner to Southshore, the mouth of the Estuary is only about 40 meters wide at low tide. Unfortunately it is about the same depth so any bridge would be awesomely expensive.... it is unlikely to be built in my lifetime.
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| Entrance of the Estuary between Shag Rock and Southshore |
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| ...Sumner Beach from the main road... |
The new Surf Club at Sumner looks flash, I really like the shape and use of wooden cladding. It fits in with the local environment...i wish more new buildings were like this.
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| Brand new Sumner Surf Clubrooms |
Turn onto the Esplanade just past the surf club and walk down to Cave Rock...
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| The Esplanade in Sumner is lovely in the summer |
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| WW1 Memorial "Gallipoli" on Sumner Esplanade |
The council are repairing the signal station on Cave Rock at the moment, but you can still go up on top for a bit of a look around. There is a nice view of Pegasus Bay from up there. I note some idjiot is in hospital after trying to jump from Cave Rock onto the containers....don't be that guy!
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| Cave Rock, Sumner |
A trip to the beach (especially on such a nice day) is incomplete without an icecream at the end. Hokey Pokey or Vanilla for me although I am also partial to a nice Run n' Raisin...
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| ...damn straight ice-cream! |
There are a series of Christchurch 360 information panels and maps next to the café at Scarborough, not so easy to see unfortunately....
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| Christchurch 360 Information Panel at Scarborough |
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| Godley Cliffs Section (7-8 hrs) from Mt Pleasant |
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| Estuary-Marshes Section (4-6 hrs) |
This section ends another 100 meters up the road near the Coast Guard Station., from here you can walk back to the start, catch a bus (in Sumner township) or continue along the next section of the Trail.
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| Heading towards Sumner Heads |
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| View of Sumner Bay from the end of this section |
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| End of this section, Godley Head Section starts/finishes here |
I got to the end of the section with the intention of catching a bus back to the start but it was such a nice day I thought, bugger it I'll walk right back.
So I did....
We have spent many happy hours with the kids at the Scarborough Park over the years, it is gorgeous and very well loved.
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| ........lovely park near Scarborough... |
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| Tide filling the Estuary between Southshore and Sumner |
Here is Jaffa the Jeep, need I say more.....
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| Jaffa the Jeep.....yep! |
Below is a WW2 machine gun emplacement that was converted into a seat at some time. Back in 1941/42 we were convinced the Japanese would invade New Zealand so a series of fortifications were built right along the coast. This one would have dominated the entrance to the estuary.
I'm glad it is seeing some other sort of use...
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| WW2 machine gun emplacement reconfigured as seat |
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| Gun emplacement information panel |
The tide comes in quick at this end of the estuary, in the 15 minutes I was eating lunch all of the sandbars were covered over by the tide.
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| Incoming tide in the Estuary |
I stopped for a sandwich and drink just past the Moncks Bay Yacht Club, there are seats where you can look out over the estuary. My sandwich was from the bakery in Sumner...yum, very nice as it had my favorite Kiwi dressing made from sweetened condensed milk...I will go there again.
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| Eating my lunch near Redcliffs |
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| Lunch spot over looking Moncks Bay |
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| A view of Southshore from my lunch stop |
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| The Estuary from lunch stop |
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| Clifton Terrace from lunch stop at Redcliffs |
There are still a lot of empty sections along the coast as some poor people are still fighting their insurance companies 5 years after the 2010/2011 earthquakes.
Bunch of insurance company bastids!
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| One of the still empty sections in Redcliffs |
One of the sad losses of the earthquakes is Redcliffs Cave, the roof collapsed making it unsafe to enter.
It is totally munted! Just about every Christchurch kid from 1860-2010 must have visited this cave at one time or another.....
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| The earthquake munted Redcliffs Cave |
If you don't fancy the idea of walking all the way to Scarborough and back then just jump on the Purple Line bus and only walk one way. The bus comes through every 15 minutes and would cost $2.00-$3.50 depending on your age.
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| Your bus transport if you care to use it... |
It takes a long time for the tide to reach the head of the estuary, as you can see in the photo below there were still mudflats at this end.
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| Still not high tide at this end of the estuary |
The Coastal Pathway is a very nice trip...how many times have you driven this way but never actually walked it? I recommend everyone get out there and give it a go, just pick a lovely sunny day like I did.
Christchurch 360 section details: Mt Pleasant to Scarborough
Access: Start at the Mt Pleasant Yacht Club, ends at the Scarborough Surf Club
Track Times: Approximately 7 km's, 1-2 hours one way
Miscellaneous: Purple Bus Line covers this whole section if you want to park at one end and catch the bus back to your car. toilets at both ends of the section. There are shops right along this route.
Christchurch 360 Trail: Taylors Mistake to Scarborough-Coastal Walkway: Mt Pleasant to Scarborough - Mt Pleasant to Travis Wetlands Section
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