Godley Head Walk

From the Taylors Mistake car park make your way behind the beach to the start of the Pilgrims Way Coastal Track. The track offers views of places where old cave dwellings used to be built into the hillside, as well as views down to the rocks and sea below.

Passing Boulder Bay, the track climbs up to the headland and the historic Godley Head coastal defence battery. It passes two of the first gun platforms to reach the Godley Battery Compound (currently closed due to earthquake damage). From here the Godley Head Gun Emplacements Track carries on around the nose of the headland, past the historic military buildings including the Battery Observation posts located at the entrance to Lyttelton Harbour. Good views of the city and coastline south can be had from the headland. There are toilets at the car park at Godley Head.

From there the Breeze Col Loop Track climbs above high above Breeze Bay, offering sweeping views of Lyttelton Harbour and New Brighton, until it drops back down to meet the Anaconda Track at Breeze Col.

The Anaconda track is shared use, with mountain bikes having right of way for the first part. About ten minutes down the track from Breeze Col on the right there is a four-wheel-drive track that you can follow back to the coastal track, and from there walk back to Taylors Mistake Beach.

Getting there

From the centre of town it's a 30 minute drive to the coastal suburb of Sumner. From Sumner, it's another 10 minutes to drive over to Taylors Mistake.

Public transport is available as far as Sumner. There is no access from Lyttelton.

Alternatively, start from the car park at the end of the Godley Head access road from Evans Pass, 50 minutes drive from the centre of Christchurch.