RIVER TO RIDGE
A new Canterbury high-country walk with big views, great food and luxurious stays provides just the right amount of challenge for UNO editor Hayley Barnett.
A new Canterbury high-country walk with big views, great food and luxurious stays provides just the right amount of challenge for UNO editor Hayley Barnett.
Multi-day walks have become somewhat of a thing for 30- and 40-somethings lately. You can barely take a whiff of wine without being hassled to join some hodgepodge friend group’s lofty goal of hiking 100km in four days. It’s the new multi-day winery tour, only much better for your waistline.
When the opportunity arose to walk a brand new 31km hike just outside of Christchurch, I jumped at it, eager to regale friends with my ambitious yet achievable adventure – one that surely no one had even heard of, let alone completed. But it seems the two families who set up and manage the two-day walk are particularly good at marketing, since the first person I told has already booked in a group for later in the year.
RockRidge is an all-inclusive walk located in the Windwhistle area of Canterbury, about 45 minutes’ drive from Christchurch, and takes in a multitude of terrain, including mountain peaks, farmland, valleys, rocks and riverbeds.
Rumbling up the driveway, our view of the Birchview Homestead is the first sign my husband, Karl, and I are in for something special.
Birchview Homestead.
Henry McElrea greets us at the door and gives us a brief introduction to the huge, stone building with five bathrooms and five bedrooms that sleep up to 10 people.
Originally built in 1928 and extended in the 1980s, the homestead sits among established gardens, native bush and a meandering stream. It’s part of Birchview Farm, a property with farming roots stretching back to 1913. Today, it remains closely tied to the McElrea family, who are among the driving forces behind RockRidge.
Henry, raised at Birchview, and his wife Megan have helped change the property into a place that somehow feels traditional and modern all at once. It’s a classic rural home, with formal dining spaces, log fires and upstairs rooms looking out over the surrounding high-country landscape. It’s also an elegant and welcoming beginning to our journey.
As Henry heads off, he leaves instructions for dinner, which awaits us in the fridge – 55-day-aged Angus beef with roasted vegetables and salad, matched with a beautiful local red wine. Dessert is a chocolate torte with berry coulis. All the food is prepared by Fable Terrace Downs, a golf resort down the road, renowned for its cuisine. From the first night, it’s clear this trip will be worth it for the food alone.
The next morning, after breakfast and a leisurely start, the walk begins in earnest. Day one runs from Birchview Homestead to Quartz Hill Quarters: 13 km, six to seven hours with breaks, and roughly 1000m of climbing. It sounds intimidating, but in reality the route unfolds in chapters and includes waterfalls, spring fed creeks and ancient cave systems said to date back some 80 million years.
The ascent to Snowy Peak and High Peak Summit is the headline act. We have morning tea at altitude, which feels deserved. Canterbury spreads below plains, braided rivers, lakes and distant ranges surrounding us on every side.
Later comes the 300m climb to Cooks Cliff, with a shortcut available. We ignore that and go the long way, before descending toward Copper Creek Watering Hole, where a dip in a man-made watering hole awaits. Here, we’re collected by a four-wheel buggy, and driven 5km down to Quartz Hill Quarters.
By the time we arrive, our legs are humming, our cheeks are wind-burnished and, thankfully, the second night’s accommodation feels glorious. We head directly for the hot tub and sauna, which are situated right on the edge of where the sheep are grazing. It’s a surreal experience to be surrounded by your upcoming dinner, but, if you’re not vegetarian, it also makes you appreciate the farm-to-plate ethos on a whole other level.
Food, as I mentioned, is central to the entire concept. Georgie and Dan Harper are the owners of Quartz Hill Station, a third-generation farm with deer, Angus cattle and sheep, and all of the food is built around locally sourced produce.
Slow-cooked Lumina lamb is the star of the show, and the berry crumble and ice cream pushes me pleasantly over the edge.
Day two offers another welcome fork in the trail: a shorter 10km half-day option, or a fuller 18km route for those still feeling ambitious. If you choose the longer walk, you’re rewarded with some of the most memorable geology of the trip – formations named The Brothers, The Mole, Periscope Rock and Hanging Falls – before descending through native bush of kōwhai, black beech and honeydew.
Unfortunately for us, fog has descended on the entire Windwhistle area, and so we choose the shortcut, which slices off a good chunk of the overall distance.
Eventually, the track joins the original Washpen Falls adventure walk, where there’s a waterfall to linger beside, and where heritage hydroelectric features add to all the grandeur.
The finale feels strangely civilised: afternoon tea back at Birchview Homestead, with the option of a hot shower before departure. We wash off the day’s mud, take advantage of the giant jar of what might be the best biscotti I’ve ever tasted, and sit in front of the fire as we await our shuttle back to Christchurch.
RockRidge’s genius seems to lie in understanding that many travellers want wilderness without the hardship. The McElreas and Harpers haven’t diluted the high-country experience, but they have framed it beautifully. You still earn the views and feel the miles, but the best part, for me at least – besides the stunning views and lush accommodation – is that someone has already thought about dinner.