For the 2012-13 season we are making some changes to our pack cartage charging.
The aim of this is to reduce the uncertainty connected with other walkers joining in on the day that you walk. For this reason, the minimum charges will be for just two packs per day on the standard pack cartage.
Charges will be
$15 per pack on first section (min $30)
$10 per pack on last section (min $20)
Full pack cartage will still be primarily an option for larger groups as the distances and time involved make it impossible to provide for very small numbers at a reasonable rate.
The new system will be a per pack charge of
$85 with minimum of 6 packs per day ($510).
To avoid any late season confusion (and because Doug who edits our site is away) these details will only be added to the main information pages in mid-June.
The Akaroa Information Centre was closed at very short notice on Friday 16th December 2011 by Christchurch City Council, due to potential earthquake danger.
It is now operating out of a small Portacom behind its old site in the old Post Office building.
This change affects us in a number of ways, primarily our daytime phone service and pack storage arrangements.
If you have additional luggage which you had intended to store while you were on the Track please bring it to the bus and we will arrange alternative storage.
The Packs 'pick-up' point in Akaroa from the pack cartage on the last day should be checked when you are at Otanerito.
The Banks Peninsula Track remains unaffected by the series of earthquakes centered in and around Christchurch and Lyttelton since September 4th 2010.
Our sympathy and condolences go out to those affected by these earthquakes.
The Banks Peninsula Track will open as usual on October 1st 2011.
An episode of the recent TV series 'Coasters' on TV One featured the bays of Banks Peninsula. Filming took place at Flea Bay, Stony Bay and Otanerito in late February 2010. The series is narrated by well known chef Al Brown, seen here (left) with Fiona Farrell at Otanerito and (right) leaving with the film crew for Le Bons Bay on Gary Brittenden's boat. The programme is directed and produced by Peter Young (centre) of Fisheye films. Al Brown is co-owner of Logan Brown Restaurant in Wellington, winner of Cuisine magazine's 2009 Restaurant of the Year Award.
Since this posting, and quite coincidentally, Fiona Farrell and Al Brown were both shortlisted for the NZ Post Book Awards 2010, with Al Brown subsequently winning both his category and the people's choice award.
Fiona Farrell - 'Limestone' - Fiction category
Al Brown - 'Go Fish' - Illustrated non-fiction category
The book of the series "Coasters" is now available in all good bookshops!
The Banks Peninsula Track was highly commended as a finalist in the landscape section of the Christchurch Heritage Awards in October 2010. Our entry included numerous examples of conservation work undertaken along the track route.
Francis and Shireen Helps won the Aoraki Conservation Board Award 2010 for their work with the white-flippered penguin colony at their farm at Flea Bay. Board chairman Steve Lowndes said the couple were "an example of the close links between conventional farming and conservation" for many years, and had helped protect the penguins.
