At the south end of Christchurch are the Port Hills – apart from these, everything else about Christchurch is flat. The Port Hills are a great place for recreational pursuits such as walking, mountain biking, rock climbing and sight seeing. The hills are apparently the eroded remnants of the northern rim of the Lyttelton volcano (who knew?). This area is also the beginning of Banks Peninsula, which is a mostly barren but very beautiful and mountainous area.

To get to the Port hills is a short drive, taking me less than 20 minutes. At the top of Dyers Pass road is the Sign of the Kiwi and from here you can either head down into Lyttleton or traverse the Summit road. I took a right turn and headed west along the Summit Road until I got to the Sign of the Bellbird – from here I had a beautiful view of the whole bay.

The weather was not very good, which made for some hazy visibility – but did create some dramatic skies.