Circling a City: Journeys on the Christchurch 360 Trail

  Jon and Karen visit Godley Heads... It was a relatively nice Sunday so I suggested to Karen that we visit the old defense battery at Godley Heads. I have been here many times over the years but this was the first time Karen had visited. The view from atop Godley Heads, Port Hills The defense works were built in haste in 1939 when New Zealand entered the Second World War and the threat of an attack on Lyttelton Harbor from German commerce raiders was high. Initially there was a half battery of dug in WW1 era 60 Pdr field howitzers these were later replaced with a dedicated coastal battery. One of the initial 60pdr guns at Godley Heads,  Godley Heads Heritage Trust  website As the war progressed a sophisticated set of landing defenses, coastal defense batteries, observation posts, searchlights and control rooms was built to dominate the seas around Lyttelton Harbor View of Lyttelton Harbor, Mechanics Bay from near the Godley Heads car park To get to Godley Head, go throug...

  A Sunday stroll on the Port Hills It was quite a nice day on Sunday so Karen and I decided to go for a walk. I was supposed to be walking the track from Godley Head to Taylors Mistake but instead we decided to go up the Gondola and walk back down the Bridal Path. Mt Cavendish from the Gondola car park, Heathcote Valley For those of you not from Christchurch  the Bridal Path  is an old settler track from Lyttelton Harbour to the Heathcote Valley on the Christchurch side of the Port Hills. Most of the settlers who arrived in Christchurch between the 1850's and 1900 would have used the path. It has real significance to Cantabrians... Riding the Gondola to the Summit Walkway The  Christchurch Gondola  goes from the bottom station at the head of the Heathcote Valley to the top of Mt Cavendish. Because it is at 500 odd meters it has excellent views of the whole of the Canterbury Plains as far north as Kaikoura, south to Timaru and Banks Peninsula. View of Castle Roc...