Last Updated: 17th Apr 2024

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Kairaki Kaiapoi Kruise

Kaiapoi, Canterbury

Submitted by Tony Sharpe

Last Updated: 17th Apr 2024

Beginner

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I've done it Done

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Open

Grunt Factor: 11 ?

Gnarl Factor: 14 ?

12.2km

Length of run

138m

Total Ascent

138m

Total Descent

25m

Highest point

Driving Time

Driving Distance

Directions to start

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Trail Map

Type of Run

Urban fringe

Loop

Totally/mostly flat

Dog Friendly

Plantation/exotic forest

Beach

Coastal

Riverside

Run Makeup

10%

70%

20%

Sealed Road

Easy Single Track

Moderate Single Track

Average Uphill Gradient: +0.1%

Average Downhill Gradient: -1.6%

Trailhead

Estimated Times to Run

1:30

Slow

1:15

Moderate

1:00

Fast

GPX File

Topo Map

3D Satellite

Guide

Start in front of the sailing club and follow the trail on the east back of the canal behind the houses. This will get you up to Pines Beach where you can cross over the canal and return to the Waimakariri River along another trail on the west bank. Pleasant scenery.

Turn right to follow stopbanks up the Waimakariri with great views across Brooklands Lagoon and to Christchurch and the distant Port Hills. Photo stops on a nice day for sure! Head past the roadend after the oxidation ponds, checking out the great fishing spot. Continue up the stopbanks now on the side of the Kaiapoi River until you see the town up ahead.

Hang a right at the dog park into the Red Zone (spare a thought for those who lived here before the 2010 quake) and follow the trails through Norman Kirk Park, to eventually link with the side streets through to the main road back to Pines Beach. Follow the cycle trail all the way back and then carry on to finish the run with a more technical stretch through the forest section (or beach if you wish). There's lots of trail options so follow your nose (or the gpx track) through for a nice finish back to the Waimakariri Mouth where you started.

Waimakariri River Mouth, Kaiapoi River, Tuhaitara Forest, great beach & Kaiapoi Red Zone

Transport and parking:

No public transport out here, but you could start the run in Kaiapoi instead if thats an issue

Distance from Kaiapoi:

4 km

Driving time from Kaiapoi:

5 minutes

Dog friendly:

Yes

Landowner permission required:

Navigation Rating:

Easy.

Navigation Tips:

Follow your nose in the forest, there is a marked trail but if you lose it just keep heading south on whatever trail you find yourself on

Cellphone Coverage:

Perfect throughout.

Suggested Gear List:

Windproof jacket, Whistle, First aid kit, Extra food for emergencies, Cellphone, Map

Availability of Water:

You can fill up at the start, and there's also water at the Kaiapoi end in Norman Kirk Park

Seasonality Issues:

Hot in a norwester

Hazards:

Nothing of note

Port and Eagle
Kaiapoi township
https://eaglebrewing.nz/brewpub
Great craft beer brewery on the river side

Trail Legend

Jeremy Edwards

has completed Kairaki Kaiapoi Kruise once in the last year.

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Trail Reviews

Rebecca Sunderland

A good excuse to tour the Kaiapoi area, tho don't bother with trail shoes as 30% is pavement, from the dog park all the way thru to Pines Beach unless you take the boggy berm as it was mid winter. And don't try following the gpx as you turn south from the Pines Beach carpark as it will lead you to a swamp and trails obliterated by recent logging. Think the views would've been better just heading out to beach and around the Waimakariri river mouth. Otherwise a lovely open run for the most part that is stunning on a crisp midwinter day.

Rebecca Sunderland

July 18, 2022

Brion Matthews

Was much more varied than expected. The gem of this run is the little out and back along the sides of the Kairaki Creek. At the fishing spot, I followed the GPX file by jumping a farm fence and sloshing through boggy farmland then jumping another fence at a bridge. I'd say just stick to the top of the stop bank here. Parts of the pine plantation area at the end have been newly felled and you need to clamber through here to connect back up to the sandy track that leads back to the river mouth - easy enough to do. Thanks very much for the explore Tony.

Brion Matthews

October 8, 2021

Scott Ferguson

For a flat run, there is surprising variety in this run. Neat to see behind the houses along Karaiki creek, although the rough surfaces of the paddocks coming back along the other side helped us appreciate the the well groomed Pegasus Bay walkway track to Kaiapoi. Good to see what was happening in the Norman Kirk Park, and quite sobering to remember there was an entire suburb here before the quakes. We missed a junction in the plantation towards the end and went off piste for a bit, but never really lost. The only real downside was running alongside the sewage ponds which got a bit hard to stomach at one point.
Good family jog with 12 and 9 year olds. Thanks for submitting.

Scott Ferguson

August 7, 2021