HHS Outdoors: Te Ara Pātaka / Mt Herbert Walkway

Winter tramping is not for the faint hearted and 13 Level 1 Outdoor Eddies put in the hard yards to complete 30km along the Te Ara Pātaka / Mt Herbert Walkway and were rewarded with spectacular views over the Banks Peninsula and the Canterbury Plains.

The team started at Hilltop and climbed up then traversed around some of Banks Peninsula's highest points to Waipuna saddle and down to Rod Donald Hut overnight. A strong southerly storm overnight meant that most of day 2 was walking through fresh snow down to around 500m, clear blue skies and of course the longest snow fight in OED history.

Reaching the summit of Mt Herbert at 919m with 360° views of the southern alps to Kaikoura we had a quick lunch stop then 8.5km descent down to Diamond Harbour where we caught the ferry back to Lyttelton.

It is hoped students now have the skills and confidence to get out and explore these trails with friends and whānau in the future.

Student highlights:
"The Snow Day and the snowball fight when we were atop of Mt Herbert"
"Eating dinner in the hut at night after a hard days work"
"Having a snow ball fight and tramping in the thick snow"

Check out the highlights video.