Hunting Out A Gorge-ous LoopBeginner - Intermediate
Submitted by Tony Sharpe
Urban fringe
Loop
Undulating, small hills only
Plantation/exotic forestOpen farmlandsOpen tussock/grasslandsOpen ridges/tops
Beginner - Intermediate
1:00 (Slow)
0:45 (Moderate)
0:30 (Fast)
-11.6%
+12.1%
Fastest Known Times (FKTs)
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Description
Looking for a quicker shorter run, but still want something a bit technical that gets the heart beating?
Or are you starting out on the trail running and want to test your form on a shorter run before tackling the longer ones in the directory?
Or perhaps your kids are at school down the road and you have a spare bit of time minutes to kill?
Then this is the run for you.
Follow the trail from the end of Albert Terrace and veer to the right fork at the first junction in the bush. You'll be following the wee creek into a gorge and steadily climbing through an increasingly picturesque and closed in valley as you head up the first km or so. There are a few treefalls that are easily negotiated and a few boulder sections to hop as you criss-cross the creek. Pass another junction and just keep heading up the valley until you break out of the forest and into the open slopes upstream.
You'll pass the Dry Valley junction and keep heading up valley towards a shelter half way up the valley. Cross the creek one last time and hop the stile to pick up a poled trail that takes you up the hill flank and eventually out onto Huntsbury Spur. Nice steady uphill till you gain the ridge crest and excellent views.
A short km or so on the tarmac of Huntsbury Ave follows down hill to pick up the steeper but awesome zigzag back down into the gorge, this track starts opposite Vista Place - don't miss the turn off as its the most fun part of the circuit. A rapid descent brings you down into the middle of the gorge where you can retrace your steps out to the startpoint.
Short, but sweet.
Trail Community
Features of interest
Awesome gorge with rock climbing areas
Scenic views of Christchurch
A rare Port Hills waterway
Make Up of Run
Technical Single Track: 30%
Moderate Single Track: 30%
Easy Single Track: 30%
Sealed Road: 10%
Route Data
Reviews:
Overlapping Runs
The following trails overlap with this run to some degree. You may wish to combine them but please note that to qualify for FKTs on these runs you should record a separate Strava activity for each

Rapaki Sugarloaf Return
Length: 15.00km

Port Hills Spur Challenge!
Length: 18.50km

Up Hill Down Valley
Length: 10.80km
Photos:
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I did it!-
Access
Albert Tce, St Martins.
Park up anywhere down past the school
5 km
12 minutes
No
No
-
Staying Safe
Moderate.
It should be pretty straightforward to follow, so long as you take the right path at the junctions
Perfect throughout.
Short-sleeved thermal top, Windproof jacket, Beanie/thermal headwear, Whistle, First aid kit, Cellphone, Map.
Short enough that you might only want a wee bit, or even leave it in the car for the finish depending on how hot the day is. It can be a wee heat trap here in summer
Can be pretty muddy in the gorge after rain
Fallen trees occasionally to negotiate
-
Post run indulgence
Brickworks Tavern
Centaurus Rd
Great watering hole and meet up spot post run -
Sponsor this trail
See other runs nearby:
Godley Head loop
Lyttelton to Diamond Harbour
Halswell and Kennedys
Summit Walkway
The Bowenvale Elevator
The Gorsetrack Strikes Back
Rapaki Sugarloaf Return
Sign Of The Takahe - Rapaki
Port Hills Nearly Half Marathon
Horse Longitudes
Horse Latitudes
Sumner Half Heads
Whigs' Flying Fifty (WFF)
VKV challenge
Banks Peninsula Ultra Beer Run
Bottle Lake Blue Loop
Gebbies to Packhorse Romp
Hagley Figure of 8
Bowenvale / Huntsbury Loop
Avon City Loops
Avon - Source to Surf
Okuti to Hilltop Amble
Gondola Gallop
Orton Bradley Loop
The ATH (Around The Harbour)
Lava - H.ELL Loop
Travis Wetland Loop
Punk Rock Assault On Windsor Castle
The Guv'nor & His Birds
The Crater Rim
Lava Lite
Takahe Half
North New Brighton Spit
Mt Pleasant Trig
God's Con - Rehab Road
Gang of Four
Dog Sniffing Rhythms - Harbour Crusin'
Trinity - Harbour Bruisin'
Gates Of The East
Lyttelton Dress Circle
A Diamond in the Rough
Port Hills Spur Challenge!
Up Hill Down Valley
The Coffee Run
Pour Some Sugarloaf On Me
Never Trust A Crocodile
Lyttelton Semi-Circle
Hagley Perimeter
Holliss Stairway to Heaven
Diamond, Herbert & Fitzgerald
Barnett Bunker Buster
The Pipeline of Pain
Mt Vernon Farm Track
Vicki Vale
Heathcote River Run - Opawa to Hoon Hay
Christchurch 360 Trail - Sugarloaf Hills Section
Little Learner Loop (Halswell Quarry)
Bird to Bird
Port Hills Protocol
Bodybag
O'Farrells For Shore
The Governator
Heathcote Meander
Spitting Distance
Montgomery Loop
Canterbury Agricultural Park Loop
2 Sugars, 2 Vernons & a Half Shot
Quail Island Looping
The Chairlift Choice
Tussock Hill Ridge
Mt Pleasant Elevator
McLeans Meander
Girdle the Groynes
Governator 2 - Judgement Day
Christchurch 360 Trail - Godley Cliffs Section
Westmorland Wetland Time Trial
Loopy in Siberia
The North Faces
Westmorland Hill Reps
360 Trail - Dunes Wetlands Section
Rocking Gibraltar
Dune Bugging
Hey Sisters!
Living Springs Loop
Springing Around Longhurst
Lady Isaac Loop
The Missing Link
Beer Bum Bluffs
Brooklands for the Birds.
Surf's Up!!!
Styx Pick Me Up
Orton Odyssey
Shoeing the Horse
Tauhinu-Korokio TKO
Double Top
Beginner's Adventure Park Loop
Boulder Dash
Clan of the Cave Runner
Taiora Track
Landfill Lark
Morgans Baa Baa Loop
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Horsing Around
Port Hills 8-Attack
Pinecone Pirate - Waitākiri/Bottle Lake Forest Park
Frogger
Takahe to Taylors