The Awaroa/Godley Head walk is one of the top recommendations from Christchurch locals. It’s one of those walks where you never hear a bad thing about it.
The loop track is less than 10km and starts from Taylors Mistake Beach before taking you around the headland which offers amazing views. And you’ll see some WWII remnants.
Continue reading to give you an idea of what to expect on the Godley Head walk, how to get there, photos, and more.
An awkward selfie proving I’ve been on the Godley Head walk
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DETAILS ABOUT THE GODLEY HEAD WALK
There’s a couple of dead spots where it’s almost like they didn’t know what to do with the track. But that’s being super nit-picky. The Godley Head loop walk is amazing, and the fact that it’s not within direct reach of public transport makes it a little bit harder for some people to reach, therefore you get fewer people on the trail.
When1: September 2020
Difficulty2: Easy – medium. The Godley Head walking tracks are well formed and easy to follow for the most part. If it’s a windy day, you’ll notice.
Walk Distance3: The Christchurch City Council website says it’s 8km, but my Strava record came in at 9.33km. We’ll go with an 8-10km walk 🙂
Elevation Gain4: My Strava data came in at 312 metres of elevation which I feel is reasonably accurate.
Walk Duration5: It took me right on 2 hours to complete the walk, which included a little bit of time at the WWII remnants but no food breaks, or any detours. The DOC website says the walk takes 3 hours so I’m confident it’ll take 90% of people 2-3 hours to complete the walk. Assuming you don’t take lots of breaks.
GODLEY HEAD LOOP TRACK MAP
The map above is the GPX file from Strava overlaid on a topo map. You can click on the map to open the map in a new tab and enable the zoom in/scroll functions.
You can’t see the walking tracks of Google Maps at all. When you look at the walking route on Maps.me, it looks super confusing.
They include what I believe are mountain biking tracks and some other stray trails. Once you’re on the walk itself, it’s super easy to understand what the main trail is.
HOW TO GET THERE
Taylors Mistake (that’s the beach above) is 17km from Cathedral Square. Your best option is to drive out there and park in the beach carpark.
But if you need to catch public transport it’s possible.
You’ll just need to add a few more kilometres to your trip as the nearest bus ends in Sumner (get off here) and then walk across to Taylors Mistake (about 3km). The public transport is overpriced (IMO) in Christchurch too, with adults paying a $4.20 cash fare one way. You can learn more about fares and the timetable here.
MY GODLEY HEAD TRACK EXPERIENCE
I was stoked to finally be able to document this walk. I caught the bus to Sumner and walked over the hills for about 3km to the trailhead.
It was a nice day, with a decent breeze blowing as I set off from Taylor’s Mistake Surf Live Saving Club car park.
After about 200 metres following the flat path, you begin the first ascent which will take you up along the headland you’ll be on for the rest of the walk.
The track is easy to follow, though you’ll see a few little tracks jutting out at various points. I didn’t take any of these side trips due to time, but they lead me to believe you could spend most of the day exploring the headland.
Once you get to about 700 metres in, you’ll have already had a taste of the views, including looking back towards Taylor’s Mistake. But this is where you need to decide if you’re going to go left or right to complete the loop.
I highly suggest going left, as this has the better views and is a more gradual incline. And if you were to decide you didn’t want to complete the full loop, this would give you the best bang for your buck.
Veering left, you’ll follow the coastline for the next two kiloemres. The views were all kind of the same, but the different angles and features kept stopping me in my tracks for just one more photo. It’s not always uphill either, with some flat sections, and minor descents to break it up (see the elevation profile on the Strava link above).
You might see some sheep hanging around too.
As you get towards the eastern end of the headland you get to the area where you’ll see remnants of WWII coastal defence battery. There are gun emplacements, tunnels, and old buildings to see.
When you get up close to them, it can be a bit confusing on which route to take through the remnants. You’ll see the green footprints, that’s what I followed and they’ll take you through the remnants where you’ll also see graffiti celebrating the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp. There are information boards to learn more as well.
As you continue on around the headland you’ll see a few more historic points of interest, with the views changing now as Lyttleton Harbour comes into play.
You’ll come close to the Godley Head Carpark which is confusing (Taylors Mistake is the best starting point). You’ll see the Godley Head walking track continue heading west up the hill towards the city.
This section does begin to climb quite quickly as we close in on the highest point we reach on the headland. The colours of the Harbour though, wow. My mind was starting to race about ideas of walking the full length of the Crater Rim…I don’t think I still appreciate quite how big it is.
At the highest point, there are a couple of final WWII defense remnants to see as the descent back to Taylor’s Mistake begins. The descent starts off rather cruisey, but the last kilometre is a bit steeper. The path is well constructed so it’s not a massive deal, but something to keep in mind.
I was stoked to finally get this walk done. It’s truly awesome, as is the whole Port Hills/Crater Rim, making for an awesome playground for tourists and locals.
If you’ve got any questions about the Godley Head Track, drop a comment below or email jub@churnewzealand.com
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Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.