Cheviot Area Walks

Cheviot Hills Reserve & Walkways

The Cheviot Hills Reserve centres around the original plantings and homestead of William "Ready Money" Robinson, the colourful landowner of the Cheviot Hills estate from 1857 to 1889. The reserve is a peaceful woodland of exotic and native trees, including many significant specimen trees, some of which are the largest examples of their species in New Zealand.

Ready Money Trail

The Ready Money Trail is a 3 km dual use trail for walking and mountain biking through the Cheviot Hills Reserve. The benched and signposted trail meanders through magnificent plantations of oak, eucalyptus and conifers, and takes in several historic sites. The trail leads up to a lookout over the Cheviot basin, and in Spring, much of the trail is through extensive plantings of daffodils.

The trail’s name celebrates the Cheviot Hills landowner Ready Money Robinson, who earned his nickname for buying the North Canterbury estate with a wheelbarrow of cash at the Lands and Deeds office in Nelson. The foundations of Ready Money’s mansion house are a feature of the Cheviot Hills Reserve and historic photographs of the estate in its heyday are inside the nearby cricket pavilion.

The trail is suitable for all levels of fitness and can be incorporated into the larger walking circuit from Cheviot down the Gore Bay Road, into the Cheviot Hills Reserve and back to Cheviot via a walking track along State Highway 1.

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MANUKA BAY TRACK

Distance: 6km return
Fitness Level: Intermediate, easy tramping track
Restrictions: Closed for lambing 15 August to 15 October each year.

From Manuka Bay, follow the winding track through coastal vegetation to the spectacular Hurunui River mouth.

TWEEDIES GULLY TRACK

Distance: 3km
Fitness Level: Easy

Accessed from Gore Bay, this well sign-posted track traverses an attractive 63-hectare reserve with a variety of vegetation and landforms before finishing in an open lookout with impressive views of Pegasus Bay. Return the way you came.

FINDLAY’S LOOKOUT TRACK

Distance: 30 minutes return
Fitness Level: Easy - mixed use track

Drive or walk along Caverhill road past the school and around the right hand bend. About 100m further along the gravel road (on the left) there is a style to allow you across the fence. There is a small sign post at the style “Findlay’s Lookout track”

Walk directly across the paddock to the tree line, then turn left and follow the treeline along the bottom of the slope till a signpost indicates turning uphill. It is a undeveloped track so logs have been placed along path to indicate proposed direction. Generally uphill to the seat at the top. A great view of Cheviot Village looking back at it from a north position. The seat at the top has a wooden shelter protecting the seated from the easterly wind.

JED VALE CEMETERY WALK

Distance: 45 mins return
Fitness Level: Easy - mixed use track

Park at the Gore Bay children’ play ground at the north end of Gore Bay – just to the south of the Buxton Camping ground.

Walk north along the beach.

As you pass the low land where the Jed river estuary is located, move up the beach above the high tide mark. Shortly after the estuary you’ll notice a sign in the shrubs marking the “Jed Vale Cemetery”. Follow the path along the north side of the estuary – water birds and rural scenery abound for the odd photo stop. The path clearly winds up the slope to the cemetery which has some council provided descriptions and a few marked graves. Please be respectful of the graves – they are local resident’s ancestors. Beware of you footing in the long grass as the ground is uneven.

POINT GIBSON LIGHTHOUSE

Distance: 10 mins return
Fitness Level: Easy - mixed use track

Drive south from Gore Bay beach for about 10 minutes. You’ll pass the Port Robinson side road and then the next left will be the Manuka Bay side road.

Drive to the gate on Manuka Bay Road (the gate marks the point where the road descends to the beach) and you’ll see a parking area to the left. Park and then negotiate the fence / gate. Walk across the paddock towards the coast and you find the Point Gibson lighthouse amongst the shrubbery. A good view up and down the coastline can be head from here.