Port Levy Saddle

Special
Mar 1st, 2023

Great walk
Dec 8th, 2022

Dec 2nd, 2022

On a clear day, from the vantage point of Mt Herbert summit, you have the opportunity to see a spectacular chain of mountains the Southern Alps, which also includes Aoraki/Mt Cook New Zealand's highest mountain. There is not many places in NZ where you can see so many mountains covered in snow. From Port Levy Saddle car park, this is the shortest hiking trail to Mt Herbert summit (919 metres). It takes approximately 2.5 hours to climb Mt Herbert. This walk track also has spectacular views of Banks Peninsula, Kaikoura ranges, Canterbury Plains/Alps and from the top of Mount Herbert you can also view Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora which is a broad, shallow lagoon in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is directly to the west of Banks Peninsula, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the long, narrow, sandy Kaitorete Spit, or more correctly Kaitorete Barrier. Mt Herbert is the highest mountain on Banks Peninsula, sitting at 919 metres above sea level. People will be unaware but on this track you are also climbing the slightly smaller sister mountain, coined Little Mount Herbert (913 metres) which is the second highest mountain on Banks Peninsula. It was winter time, there was still remnants of ice and snow on the trail. In the morning it was 3 degrees Celsius and didn't get any higher than 6 degrees Celsius by lunchtime. Anything below 10 degrees Celsius is hypothermia weather. Mt Herbert is notorious for being windy and in mist/fog. So a woollen hat and gloves wouldn't go amiss if you are feeling chilly. The wind chill factor would make climbing Mt Herbert even colder.
Jun 20th, 2022

Mar 9th, 2022