Lyttelton to Lyttelton walking marathon 2024

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Posted By: Michal 10.6.2024

This year was quite special for a few reasons:

  • If I’m not mistaken, it was the first time I didn’t need to postpone the walking marathon due to bad weather. 
  • Everybody finished, including six prospective members, which is unheard of. In all previous marathons, at least a few participants didn’t finish. So let me congratulate all participants; it was a great achievement on their part.
  • Also, we took the 6:50 AM ferry as opposed to the 7:50 AM ferry. The reason being that the marathon was on Saturday for the first time. In previous years, it was on Sunday (on Sundays, ferries start going across at 7:50). Shifting the event to Saturday allowed for an earlier ferry and also allowed most of us to reach the Sign of Kiwi before the closing hour, which was 4 PM.

Apart from the reasons above, it was a standard walking marathon: we had some sun, some clouds, some wind, some fog, and some sore knees and muscles. I was playing Tail-End-Charlie up to Gebbies Pass. The fastest folks managed to finish in about 8.5 hours, while the slowest folks took close to 12 hours. While some opted to follow Crater Rim, others, including me, followed the road from Gebbies Pass onwards. We regrouped at Eruption Brewing.

HUGE thanks to Mark Nicholls. Mark got injured just a few days before the marathon, so he decided to set up a cafe at Gebbies Pass. He served us fresh fruit, hot tea, coffee, and cold juice. Hero of the day.

Let me provide some timing for future reference. It took me 10.5 hours to walk the whole thing. From Diamond Harbour ferry terminal, I had the following times:

  • Mt Herbert: 2h 15min
  • Packhorse Hut: 3h 50min
  • Gebbies Pass: 5h 20min
  • Sign of Kiwi: 8h 20min
  • Top of Bridle: 10h

Stats: 45 km, 8.5-12 h, 1760-2000 m+ ascent depending on how many peaks were bagged along the way

Participants: Michal Klajban (leader, scribe, GPX), William Sturch, Paul Griffin, Zack Williams, Alexander MacDonald, Kieran Scott, Timothy Lawrence, Hannah Harrison, Mark Anderson, Vanessa Smith, Fiona Gough, Ben Ashton, Justin Loh, Jim Schofield, James Schofield, Megan Vink, Polly Joice, Sarah Jane, Verena Braun, Emma Power

Tramped on 8th June 2024.

Previous marathons:

Photos

Lyttelton in the morning from Diamond Harbour Beach
Hannah on the way up to Mt Herbert
Sunrise over Lyttelton Harbour
Marching up Mt Herbert
Mt Herbert track
Scotty heading up to Mt Herbert
Pretty colours in the morning
Mt Herbet in the distance
Last hill before Mt Herbert
Some parts between Mt Herbert and Packhorse hut are always muddy
Scotty found some hair! Lucky man
Snacks at Packhorse
Legendary Mark and his cafe
Heading up from Gebbies Pass
Hannah at Coopers Knob
Zack along the Summit Rd
The blue sky popped in sometimes at us
Heading towards Mt Vernon
Getting closer to Bridle Path
Finally: Bridle Path above Lyttelton

Map

Total distance: 68837 m
Max elevation: 913 m
Min elevation: -9 m
Download file: GPX-hikingisgood-com-nz-2024-Lyttelton-to-Lyttelton.gpx

Related posts:

Godley to Gebbies: Traverse of the Port Hills Port Hills Walking Marathon: Lyttelton to Lyttelton 1000m in Port Hills: Mt Pleasant – Cass Bay – Stan Helms Track – Bridle Path The pipeline with the little people

About the Author

Michal
I lived a pretty ordinary life for a while. I did my studies, my second studies, my third studies, my first job, my second job, and my third job. I wasn’t really sure what’s going on so, in 2014, I left my home country (Czechia) to learn about the world. I’m still not sure what’s going on but I enjoy it much more. I lived in a few countries before settling in New Zealand.

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