Hinewai Reserve - at the far end of Banks Peninsula there is a very special place

Hinewai Reserve sits on a corner of the beautiful Banks Peninsula, a part of the South Island not far from Christchurch that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. It was created when two volcanos erupted millions of centuries ago – but that is a story for another day.

Waterfalls and streams make up the landscape of the reserve

Hinewai is an ecological restoration project. They are trying to restore this small corner of the peninsula back to how it originally used to be, before the first settlers arrived in the area and cut down all the natural habitat to make space for farming. The area is huge spreading out from the top of the peninsula down to the shoreline and the aptly named Stoney Bay and Long Bay.

Top of Hinewai Reserve looking down over the many bays that make up Banks Peninsula

I left my car in the small parking area at the top of the reserve, just a short drive from Bank’s Peninsula’s main township of Akaroa, and entered the park through the gateway. The track down to the information area is quite steep and slippery so be sure to wear suitable footwear. I also found a walking stick helpful for some of the more steep sections – remember this is a valley and some of the walking is up and down some fairly steep gradients that are often slippery. The information centre provides a small scale model of the actual park so you can plan your visit, there is also a map to take with you which is a necessity for finding your way around. There are a lot of tracks here going off in various directions and although the signage is really good it would be easy without a map to lose your sense of direction. The centre can also be booked for overnight stays – just bring your own sleeping bag and expect pretty basic facilities. A short walk from here is the owners house, sitting with great views over the whole reserve.

One of the many tracks to follow at Hinewai

Basically how long you stay, and indeed what tracks you take depend on you – there are many to choose from and they take you across, down and through the reserve. As you walk along the bush canopy is quite dense with vegetation.

Dan standing underneath one of the many grand old trees still standing here

There are several sidewalks that are signposted taking you over to pretty and petite waterfalls and some very old, large, grand trees, that thankfully survived all the felling. Every now and then you come across an information sign explaining the work being undertaken by the reserve volunteers. Gorse, originally from Scotland, spread and is a pest throughout New Zealand, and has a habit of taking over and destroying the native plants, but in Hinewai it is actually being used as a shelter to nurse and protect the new seedlings, that over time will grow in its shadow and gradually overtake and eventually destroy it. A very clever way of dealing with a severe potential nuisance. Such a great novel idea.

Thumbs up from Dan after one of the longer climbs

The idea is to return the area to New Zealand natural habitat of forest and bush and thereby bring back the native birds. Gradually they are returning, during my hike I heard the song of the bellbird (one right beside my ear!), Kereru the New Zealand wood pigeon, fan tails and even a Saddleback. It was early winter so I didn’t hear as many as I hoped and certainly no Tui, but give this a few months, when spring blossoms and the temperatures warm up and it will be a different story. I am already planning my return, to explore further into the reserve and take some of the longer walks, taking with me a picnic and much more water. The track back up to the top was a real thigh burner and running out of water at this point was hughly annoying, even if I was just a short walk from the top and my car. But turning around to take in the epic views as I climbed upwards made it all worthwhile.

One of the many streams running down through the reserve