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In the Hanmer / North Canterbury Region
North Canterbury provides many excellent scenic walkways throughout the region, ranging from the pleasant stroll to the several-day-tramp.
St. James Walkway
The St James Walkway was the very first sub-alpine walkway established. It is a very popular walk that is predominantly on the St James Station from which it gets its name. It is a five-day tramp covering almost 67 kilometres of diverse, scenery, vegetation and wildlife. Its length and mountainous terrain make it a strenuous walk, although suitable for people of average fitness. It passes through the St James Station, the Poplars Station, Lake Sumner Forest Park and the Lewis Pass National Reserve. Further information is available on the DOC website.
Hanmer Forest walks
The Hanmer Forest Park is one of the oldest exotic forests in the country. The diversity of trees in the area, some of massive size, provides a wonderful opportunity for visitors to walk several forest walk tracks.
Walking tracks in the area
Further information can be gained from the local information centre.
Lake Sumner Forest Park
Lake Sumner Forest Park consists of 102,296 hectares of mountainous land, half of which is forested with mainly red, silver and mountain beech trees.
It is very popular for its challenging tramping, climbing and hunting opportunities. One of the most famous walks follows the route of the ancient Maori greenstone trail, and later developed by gold miners in the 1860s on route to the diggings over the West Coast. This tramp is approximately 4 days and takes the tramper through the Harper Pass. Another popular walk is one that takes the tramper over the Kiwi Saddle to Lake Sumner itself, and takes about two days. Huts are provided for trampers to use on both these tracks. Further information can be found on the DOC site.
Hanmer Springs Helicopters is able to provide access to some of the most remote and exciting areas to assist you in pursuing your particular interest in this amazing area.
