Peak Hill walkway has spectacular views
By Yvonne van Eerden
With only had five in our tramping group we headed off from Christchurch at 9.00am to Lake Coleridge where we were going to walk to Peak Hill.
We drove through Lake Coleridge village which is very, very small indeed where there is a power station built in 1914. We checked the power station out on the way home.
We continued on a shingle road for about three kilometres where we could see Peak Hill very clearly. The weather was very calm, with very little wind.
The views even at the start of the walk were very beautiful.
We organized ourselves and started walking around the paddock by the fence as the farmer does not want anyone to disturb the stock (there was no stock today). After about 10 minutes we started our climb of Peak Hill.
As we went higher we could see Lake Coleridge, it was very blue and the mountains around were spectacular as well. You had to stop to catch your breath and to take in the view. We took lots of photos and took the time to look all around us.
We later stopped for morning tea so that we could all catch up together and then soak in the views once again. Bill and Denise are very quick at going up and we just plodded along and knew we would eventually get to the top, but I must say several times we thought we were at the top but yet again we had another climb.
Once we were at the top we had our lunch and had views of 360 degrees. The feeling was wonderful, it was such a great walk and we had made it.
Of course the trip down was very quick but we still took time to look around. Well worth a day trip out for the family, where you can do as much or as little as you want.
Fact file
From Christchurch the driving distance to the start of the Peak Hill Walkway is about 120km. Driving time about one hour 40 minutes.
The walkway is sited adjoining Peak Hill Station, 9kms along Algidus Road in the Lake Coleridge area.
From Algidus Road there is a sign and a marked easement over private land, which will take you to the summit along an unformed route.
The walk should take about three hours return, and is suitable for family groups. Peak Hill is a prominent hill on the shores of Lake Coleridge.
At its peak, 1240m, it offers a stunning overview of the lake and surrounding area on a fine day.
The walk to Peak Hill is extremely exposed to the weather and walkers should be well equipped.
