VISION
Imagine twisting your way between the bristling tussocks along the crater rim. Looking down into Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Harbour you see the tranquil waters, the isolation of Ōtamahua / Quail Island, the bustling port, the slow creep of the easterly cloud, and the faint warble from a riroriro.
You descend to a rocky outcrop and find an interpretation panel that begins to tell you the stories from this land: it takes you back 10 million years to the fiery volcanic origins that formed your surroundings; it connects you to the glossy fern growing from the weeping cracks in the rock; it takes you to a time when tall forests stood around you and Moa roamed; it takes you to the time of Tamatea Pōkai Whenua calling out to Ngātoroirangi to send ahi tipua (volcanic fire) for warmth in a cold southerly storm; it takes you to the time of Scott's "ill-fated" expedition departing for the South Pole; it transports you to the muted deforested hills of Rita Angus’ painting; it takes you to February 22nd as the ground shook and rocks tumbled; it takes you to the future where bird song echoes around you.
Now imagine you are in any of our parks and reserves across Pātaka o Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula, where you can walk and learn of our stories.
Stories connect us to the landscape. They provide knowledge, they incite questions and inquisitiveness, and allow voices, past and present, to be heard.
Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula Geopark is a place to tell our stories.
This is our aspiration for Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula.
A Learning Geopark
Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Geopark is a learning Geopark, creating guardians.
The Geopark wishes to convey the stories of Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula, the place and its landscapes, primarily by developing Geosites – a series of interpretation panels along a pathway, sharing intertwined stories (past, present, and future) at places of connection.
Geosites are supported by online information, learning and education programmes, and supporting resources (i.e., pamphlets).
Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Geopark:
· Connects visitors with the places and stories of Banks Peninsula
· Creates kaitiaki (guardians) for the region’s geology, landscape, flora, fauna, history, and communities
· Promotes this unique landscape to international prominence
· Attracts visitors to spend more time in the region (high value, slow tourism)
Inspiration from the Landscape
In the depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s the population of Christchurch looked to the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula as an inspirational landscape. Harry Ell was the visionary that led us to the way we interact with the landscape today. A century later, we walk the crater rim along hand crafted tracks and trails, we drive along the narrow roads supported from below from hand stacked rock walls, and we shelter from the winds and rain protected by the stone buildings scattered along the summit. Icons of Ell’s aspirations.
Ell’s vision was to create a network that provided access to the numerous reserves and walking tracks and to connect the tracks and reserves between Christchurch and Akaroa, an aspect recently achieved with the opening of the Te Ara Pataka / Summit Walkway.
Ell was inspired by his passion to bring people to the places of Banks Peninsula and to engage them in New Zealand's natural heritage, plants, and ecology.
Some one hundred years later, and in similar global events (influenza pandemic / Covid-19) and impacts (The Great Depression / Global Recession), we once again look to the hills, valleys, bays, and harbours as a place for inspiration.