Summit Road in the Port Hills, Christchurch, follows the Lyttelton crater rim from Gebbies Pass to Awaroa / Godley Head. It is a spectacular drive, climbing up to 500 metres above sea level with many viewpoints across Christchurch and the Canterbury Plain to the Southern Alps.
You can access the road from three main points. At the east end, take Evans Pass Road from Sumner. Evans Pass Road also connects with Sumner Road to Lyttelton and the easternmost section of Summit Road that goes to Godley Head. At the west end of the road, take Dyers Pass Road from Sign of the Takahe in Cashmere to Sign of the Kiwi at Pukeatua / Dyers Pass on Summit Road. Summit Road then heads south to Gebbies Pass, connecting with Gebbies Pass Road. This road heads north to the harbour and southwest to State Highway 25 to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula.
One section of the road can only be accessed by bike and on foot. The restriction is between Te Upoko o Kuri / Witch Hill, above Cass Bay and Mt Cavendish, above Lyttelton. The Crater Rim Walkway follows the crater rim from Godley Head to Sign of the Bellbird on the southern section of the road, often running alongside the road. Take extra care driving south of this, as people use the narrow winding road as an extension of the walking track!
There are many highlights along the road. These include short walks to Te Heru o Kahukura / Sugarloaf, Mount Vernon, Te Upoko o Kuri / Witch Hill, Mount Cavendish, the Hornbrook Track between Mt Cavendish and Lyttelton and Godley Head. You can also get to the top of Mount Cavendish by taking a gondola from Bridle Path Road near the northern entrance to the Lyttelton Tunnel.
Summit Road is relatively modern. The older Bridle Path crossed the hills between Lyttelton and Heathcote and can still be walked and cycled today. The first road was over Evans Pass from Sumner to Lyttelton, completed in 1857. In 1867, the Lyttelton rail tunnel was cut through the Port Hills. Evans Pass Road carried all road traffic between the city and the port until the road tunnel was opened in 1964.
The idea of a road along the crater rim was Harry Ell's initiative. He had long been involved with protecting walking tracks around the Port Hills, establishing reserves for public use, and protecting native flora and fauna. The first scenic reserve was Kennedy's Bush (20 hectares). Set up in 1906, it was also the first in NZ. By the 1930s, the Port Hills had 500 hectares of reserves. Ell proposed the road to connect the reserve and tracks, making for easier public access. The road was built in the 1930s and employed 1,000 people during the Great Depression.
Ell was also responsible for the curiously named stone building shelters built on Dyers Pass Road and along the southern route. The substantial Sign of the Takahe is at the north end of Dyer Pass Road, the Sign of the Kiwi at Dyers Pass and the Sign of the Bellbird on the southern section of Summit Road. There is also the Sign of the Packhorse (now Packhorse Hut) accessed on the Kaituna Valley Packhorse Hut Track. There are cafes in Takahe and Kiwi, and you can book overnight at Packhorse. Bellbird is just a shelter.
