At 1,200 people, Diamond Harbour is the second largest town on Lyttelton Harbour. It can also be reached by ferry from Lyttelton. Early European settler farmer Mark Stoddart named the area for the way sunlight glints off the water.
The town has limited services – a cafe/bar and a fish and chips shop. But it does have a very nice park centred around the ferry terminal in Te Waipapa / Diamond Harbour (a bay not to be confused with the town) and Stoddart Point. From the clifftop at the point, there are fabulous views back to Lyttelton and down to the harbour entrance. The interesting mother and child sculpture ‘Looking for something that will last’ by Alison Erickson is also on the Point.
From the Point, there are multiple walking options. For a short walk, walk around the cliffs and through the park to the Memorial Gardens and historic Stoddard Cottage. If you want a real hike, take the 9 km uphill slog to the top of Mt Herbert / Te Ahu Patiki. At 909 metres, it is the highest point on the Banks Peninsula and the eroded core remnants of a third major ancient volcano. This volcano filled in the land between the Lyttelton and Akaroa craters.
