Take a walk on the wild side, or simply catch a cable car high to take you high above Christchurch

The views across the Canterbury Plains were quite breathtaking on this cold July morning when Jack frost had paid a visit.

Dan a little bit chilled at the top of the cable car

The air was still and the sun blazed in a giant gold ball over the Pacific Ocean beyond. There was hardly a cloud in the sky which made it the perfect condition for visiting the Christchurch Adventure Park. It was already busy with early risers when I arrived. Keen mountain bikers were collecting their passes, renting their bikes or practicing their moves all around me. I was here for a more steady time. I’d come to check the place out and had already purchased on-line my ticket for the cable car. The bottom part of the park is set within a woodland of pine trees. The buildings are made from wood also and consist of a ticket office and information centre, retail shop, bike hire and equipment area and a very large attractive café with a huge deck area complete with heaters. I decided the café would be the perfect spot for later but right now I was keen to check the place out. I made my way up towards the base for the cable car. I passed a gap in the woodland which signposted for walkers. Apparently you can climb to the top of the Port Hills and ride the cable car back down for free – I am planning to return to do this in a few weeks. This time I was cheating though. I waited in line for the mountain bikers to hook their bikes into the cable car spaces. Once the bikes are secure another lift arrives for the people to sit in. I positioned myself in line and claimed my seat. There is enough space for four on the cable car, but two is the perfect number. The bar pulls down over you to secure you in place and then with a whoosh you are off. The car hoisting you along and up through the forest canopy. The rise to begin with was steady and the drop down not too hair raising. A bellbird swooped past low over the trees. And then we began to climb, in some places quite steeply, in others very close to the cliff face. Looking down I spotted several wild goats using their horns to ruck with one another. Bikers whizzed down the tracks just out of reach of the cable car. I continued up further so that in front of me I could make out the port at Lyttleton Harbour and the teal blue of the sea. Daring to look behind me the whole of Canterbury appeared to be laid out in a patchwork of flatness, fields interspersed with the wide stretches of the braided rivers. Beyond them all stood the majestic snow smothered peaks of the Southern Alps. I had reached the top and scurried off the cable car trying to dodge the bikers keen to find their trails. In front of me stood a wind blown yellow sign pointing in various directions different places across the south island. A snow covered pathway took me on a loop walk above the cable car so that I could look across the landscape of the Canterbury Plains. Behind me was the volcanic slopes of the Banks Peninsula. I felt as though I was on top of the world, and the frosty wind that blew at my face was a fierce reminder that I could well have been.

The views from the top of the Christchurch Adventure Park

After taking the prerequisite photos and gradually getting my bearings so I could work out which mountain of the Southern Alps I was looking across at I caught the cable car back down again. At the bottom keen to warm my toggles I called in at the café. A flat white and a piece of their carrot cake worked a treat. They also had some lovely looking pies and rolls available as well as a licensed bar. As I was studying my map of the adventure park I noticed another loop walk that started from behind the café. Keen to get some steps in I headed off into the forest looping around the biking tracks. Signs were in place to tell me all about the local birds that could be spotted in the area, including fan tails, marsh falcons and tomtits. It was probably too cold on this particular morning for bird spotting but I imagine in summer it would be fun. What was fun though was watching the bikers tear down the trails all around me. These were the intermediate tracks and some jumps were visible as I wandered along watching the dare devil antics of the more experienced mountain bikers.

Christchurch Adventure Park has won all sorts of plaudits, and despite some initial teething troubles is well worth paying a visit too.