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25.01.2022 I'm now all caught up on our last few walks. The last two, Mt Bruce (below) and Mt Harper will be up on the blog later in the week.

24.01.2022 Here are a few photos from Mt Isobel early last week. The blog post is already up but I guess this is easier to have a quick look through. Apparently Canterbury's most climbed mountain due to its proximity to the resort town of Hanmer Springs, where we stayed for four nights.

23.01.2022 I got quite excited when first reading about this somewhat challenging tramp up Mt Oakden (1633m), and it did not disappoint. The mountain's position at the foot of the braided Wilbeforce River provides epic views straight up this valley, and these were a real highlight for me. Added to this are excellent views up the Harper Valley, of the Rakaia River, Lake Coleridge, and countless peaks in the Southern Alps. [ 393 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-oakden-ascent-canterbury/

21.01.2022 Forgot to tag Sophia yesterday... Just a few videos and a couple of photos to start with from today's walk up Steepface Hill (1876m). More photos to come when I...'ve had chance to edit them. 1500m change in elevation over roughly 4km: an average 38 degree slope, and all of it off track. It's all in the name. Yet another fabulous walk and there wasn't a single other walker on the mountain despite it being the weekend and fine weather. See more

21.01.2022 Some of my many photos from Mt Harper (1829m) on Saturday, starting with one of my most epic panoramas, taken at the start. Alas I had a smudge on my lens so you can see that on some of my shots. Always clean your lenses!

20.01.2022 A few more shots from our walk last Saturday to Ben More (1655m) in Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park.

20.01.2022 One shot to start from today's walk: Sophia looking out towards the Arrowsmith Range, (which peaks at 2781m), from the playfully named Bus Stop Track. With seve...re gale force winds forecast for the mountains we opted for a lowlands walk instead of what I originally planned (although we still got up to 1100m). I didn't expect so much from it but it turned out to be yet another excellent walk with dramatic scenery of volcanic origin most of the way. More pics to come when I've had chance to look through them. See more

20.01.2022 Some pics from Mt Binser (1860m) last Saturday. Sophia reckoned these were the best views we've had so far which is a big call, but it was a walk recommended by... a mountaineering neighbour of ours (at our last place). Quite an adventure with bush bashing required and steep, loose scree slopes to negotiate was well. Very rugged in places. See more

19.01.2022 I first did this classic Canterbury walk up Castle Hill Peak (1998m) via Foggy Peak in autumn, not long after I had arrived in Christchurch (that post here). On that snowless day there were gale force winds and the final ascent to the summit felt rather adventurous. I had wanted to return and repeat the walk in snow because I'd read that it made for good winter tramping. [ 261 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/castle-hill-peak-via-foggy-peak-/

19.01.2022 Some shots from a late afternoon/ early evening circuit walk around and above Lyttelton on the Banks Peninsula. It was a variation on a walk we'd done before, so not sure if I'll put together a blog post for this or not. About 2 hours for this.

18.01.2022 Posting this separately from my video as I couldn't get it to work otherwise. A 360 degree panorama from the summit of Mt Bealey (1836m) today in Arthur's Pass ...National Park. Best viewed in landscape orientation. Have a look at the video also. I maintained a steady hand for once due to lighter than average winds. See more

18.01.2022 It's going to take me ages to review and edit my photos from today's big walk up Dunblane (1303m) and then Mt Charon (1540m), so here's a shot Sophia took of me... on Mt Charon to start. She did an excellent job. About an 8 hour walk, with roughly 1000m change in elevation over 16km or so, and most of it off track. We started at Jack's Pass, which is at 870m. Yet another 'one of the best walks we've done' walks. I found the colourful heath vegetation to be a highlight. See more

18.01.2022 Mt Isobel (1319m) is said to be Canterbury's most climbed mountain. One reason would be good accessibility, sitting as it does just on the edge of the popular resort town of Hanmer Springs. But it is a very nice mountain, with wide open views over mountains, valleys and the Hanmer Plains, forested lower slopes with colourful heath vegetation higher up, and some rugged rocky sections to boot. [ 127 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-isobel-from-jacks-pass-hanmer/

18.01.2022 The long tramp up Mt Potts in the upper Rangitata Valley is a real classic, with awe inspiring views from the summit topping off great views from before you even leave your car. I'd first come across Mt Potts on another hiking blog, and despite them not including many interesting photos my interest had already been piqued. It is a high peak at 2184m, and doable from the bottom (600m) on a long day hike, so that meets my criteria for a great physical peak-bagging challenge. [ 303 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-potts-circuit-canterbury/

17.01.2022 Since moving to Canterbury (NZ) in Autumn 2020 I'd had my eyes on Mt Hutt (2185m), the high point of a prominent mountain range bordering the Rakaia River. This would be a big walk with limited winter daylight hours, so a good plan B was to first climb a peak at the northern end of this range, Steepface Hill (1876m): a 1500m vertical climb over just four kilometres, and the only ridge on the route up is mostly flat. [ 229 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/steepface-hill-ascent-hakatere-c/

16.01.2022 We wanted a quieter walk to do on our first trip to the Hanmer Springs area, and this was a great choice. We met nobody else on a Sunday doing this long but very enjoyable walk to the summit of Mt Charon (1560m) via Dunblane (1303m) from Jacks Pass (870m). The very colourful heath vegetation was a real highlight, as where the views towards numerous other mountains, over the Hanmer Plains, and into a few valleys. [ 229 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-charon-dunblane-hamner-range-/

16.01.2022 A couple of photos and a video to start with from our walk today up Mt Cloudsley (2,107m), the highest we've been in New Zealand. We walked from Castle Hill Vil...lage at about 760m. Took lots of photos as usual, so it will take some time to go through those and select the social media worthy ones. See more

16.01.2022 This is one combination of many possible walks in the Port Hills on the outskirts of Christchurch. This one takes you from the edge of town in Cashmere Hills to the Crater Rim through regenerating bush, then on the Sugarloaf Circuit with views over Governors Bay to the east, and the Canterbury Plains and Christchurch to the west. You could have food and coffee at one of the historic cafes at either end of the Harry Ells Track: [ 87 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/harry-ells-track-sugarloaf-circu/

16.01.2022 The blog post will be up in the coming week, but here are some pics from our latest walk.

14.01.2022 Very colourful heath vegetation on our way up Dunblane and Mt Charon in the Hanmer Range over the weekend. The colours where a real highlight of an all round excellent walk. . . .... . . . . . #heath #heathland #hanmer #hanmersprings #hanmerspringsnz #colours #colors #colorful #colourful #plants #naturalworld #naturelovers #botany #red #yellow #orange #tramping #bushwalking #lovenewzealand #lovenz @ Hanmer Springs See more

13.01.2022 Couple of shots from today's walk to start. More to come (of course ). We did a longish circuit to Ben More (1655m) in Torlesse Korowai Tussocklands Park. About 16km and 950m of ascent and descent.

13.01.2022 I'd heard this circuit walk along the tops of Ben More, the high point of the Big Ben Range in Korowai/Torlesse Tussocklands Park, was a good winter tramping option, with safe enough travel for those less experienced in snow. By time we did the walk in early spring there's wasn't much slow left, but enough to add to the aesthetics of the area. [ 205 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/ben-more-tops-circuit-korowai-to/

12.01.2022 We drove up the Clarence Valley today as far as Lake Tennyson, having seen it yesterday from on our way up Dunblane. Felt quite remote. . . . .... . . . #valley #valleyview #hamnersprings #river #rivers #valleys #drive #scenicdrive #lake #lakes #molesworth #nzbackcountry @ Lake Tennyson See more

12.01.2022 One of Canterbury's more popular walks, climbing Little Mt Peel takes you 1000m up through a variety of vegetation types, including podocarp and broad leaf rainforest with a variety of ferns, then native bush, and finally into heath and tussock. The views from the summit are very good, including the Canterbury Plains to the east, and various hills and mountains in all other directions. [ 187 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/little-mt-peel-circuit-peel-fore/

11.01.2022 I'd heard good things about the views from Mt Bruce (1630m) in Craigieburn Forest Park, and I was not at all disappointed! Spectacular 360 degree views await you at the summit, but there's plenty of interest for much of the walk. There's nice forest at the start, already good views on the tracked section, then ever improving views as you climb to the summit. [ 391 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-bruce-circuit-craigieburn-for/

11.01.2022 I meant to include a couple of wider landscape shots in my Mt Cloudsley post yesterday, but my phone had the old 4:3 versions on it. Here are the correct ones. ...Sophia just before we left the summit, backed by the emerging Craigieburn Range, and then the Torlesse Range brooding under grey clouds. Best viewed in landscape orientation. See more

10.01.2022 Some shots from our latest walk (yesterday) up Little Mount Peel (1311m), just over the Rangitata River in South Canterbury. Some of the native bush we walked t...hrough at the mid elevations of the mountain reminded me of Sydney's coastal scenery in the Royal National Park. There was a thousand metre climb for this one, although we did the ascent along Deer Spur in about two hours. Quite a bit slower on the more rugged route back down along the South Ridge Track. See more

09.01.2022 These are just a few of the shots I took on our long walk up Dunblane and Mt Charon. The light was a bit flat but it was an excellent walk and quite remote feel...ing despite being very accessible. Didn't meet a single person in over 8 hours (except back at the car park, which is used by some for access to Mt Isobel, the walk we did two days later). From two weeks ago now, See more

09.01.2022 Photos from Castle Hill Peak on Tuesday. A bit out of order in places. Plus there's a video from the summit at the end. We met a friendly hiker on the summit an...d chatted with him, and on the way down passed a couple of people who had hiked to Foggy Peak. We didn't know it at the time but one of them was a follower on Instagram. They saw a photo I posted the next day and realised that we were the hiking scenery couple! Famous. See more

07.01.2022 Some shots from Saturday's walk, a circuit to Woolshed Creek Hut west of Mt Somers. Excellent gorge and mountain scenery for moderate effort.

07.01.2022 360 degree views from the summit of Mt Bealey (1836m) today, in Arthur's Pass National Park.

06.01.2022 Here are my pics from our walk yesterday up Steepface Hill (1876m). The Rakaia River features prominently in these photos, one of NZ's beautiful braided rivers. We had mostly unobstructed views of it for most of the walk. Photos are roughly in order except for the first.

05.01.2022 Here's a shot of us two on the summit of Castle Hill Peak (1998m) today. This is the first time we've repeated a walk in New Zealand, not for want of new ones m...ind you, but because I really wanted to do this walk again while there was still snow on the tops. I got to wear my crampons for the first time, needed for the final steep push to the summit on sometimes icy snow. It felt a lot easier than when we first did this walk in autumn, athough then there were gale force winds and only scree to walk on. This photo was taken by an elderly tramper from Slovenia, who has lived in NZ for 36 years and has a house in Queenstown (and lived there for 8 years), which is an interesting coincidence for those who know the connection with the Lajovic family. See more

04.01.2022 With severe gale force winds forecast for the mountains on a sunny Saturday in late winter I thought it best we avoid exposed ground, and opted instead for this circuit walk to Woolshed Creek Hut near Mt Somers. Being at lower elevations I did not expect so much from the walk, but it very much exceeded expectations. We did the loop anti-clockwise and climbed up to 1100m on the Rhyolite Ridge and Bus Stop Tracks, with excellent views towards the distant but spectacular Arrowsmith Range, and also of the nearby Winterslow Range. [ 116 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/woolshed-creek-hut-circuit-mount/

04.01.2022 Some photos from today's walk in Nina Valley, at the Lewis Pass side of Lake Sumner Forest Park, North Canterbury. We had intended to climb a mountain but low c...loud put us off and so we opted for a nearby valley walk instead. Walking in forest for about 6 hours was a bit much for me, with barely any views along the way. But it was nice forest, and something a bit different from our usual walks. See more

04.01.2022 This was my first time to climb a 2000 metre high peak from the bottom (the bottom being at 760m in this case), and was also the highest I'd climbed in New Zealand. Despite these numbers it is a fairly straightforward climb up Long Spur to the summit of Mt Cloudsley (2107m), the second highest peak in the Craigieburn Range. It made for a great winter walk after some fresh snow, with views along the Craigieburn Range and over to the Torlesse Range, and from the summit, views south-west over a jumble of topography around Lake Coleridge, and north-west towards numerous peaks in the Southern Alps. [ 214 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-cloudsley-via-long-spur/

03.01.2022 This pleasant walk in the Nina Valley as far as Nina Hut was a plan B on our first trip to the Lewis Pass area, as low cloud made put us off our planned mountain ascent. Almost 6 hours in beech forest was a bit much for me, but it was very pleasant forest, and a couple of sections of the Nina River were picturesque too. [ 172 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/nina-valley-to-nina-hut-lake-sum/

03.01.2022 Finally getting around to posting some shots from Friday's walk up Mt Bealey (1836m) in Arthur's Pass National Park. This was at the moderate end of hard, and e...asier than Mt Binser which we did the next day. Quite a lot of wide panoramas in this selection so perhaps rotate your phone to landscape orientation. See more

02.01.2022 With a forecast of cloudy weather to the north and west of Canterbury this walk up Mt Harper (1830m) in the Ashburton Lakes District was a plan B. It turned out to be one of the best walks we've done, with fabulous views in all directions. There's variety in the views as well, with rugged snowy peaks, lumpier mountains, wide plains punctuated with shallow lakes, and the Rangitata River Valley. [ 242 more words ] https://hikingscenery.com/mt-harper-circuit-hakatere-conse/