Banks Track
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox hiking trail|name=Banks Track|location=Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand|established=1989|months=October–April|highest_m=699|length_km=30}}
File:Banks Peninsula Track 0348.jpg
The Banks Track is a 31-kilometre privately owned walking track on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand. The track opened in 1989 as the first privately owned track in New Zealand.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
Tramping
The track is open from October through April. Accommodation huts along the track are unique and well-equipped.
=The route=
File:Banks Peninsula Track 1.JPG. The track was to be rerouted away from this location after the 2016–17 season.{{cite news |last1=Hayward |first1=Michael |title=Banks Track cut down to three days at the end of the season |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/86089646/banks-peninsula-track-cut-down-to-three-days-at-the-end-of-the-season |accessdate=5 November 2016|work=The Press |date=5 November 2016 |page=A16}}]]
Both the Banks Track Three Day Classic Walk and Banks Track Two Day Hikers Option start and end in Akaroa, with a bus ride to the start of the walking track on a farm at Ōnuku. They reach a maximum altitude of {{convert|699|m}} at Trig GG, traversing a rugged coastline, forests, bush, pastures, and the Hinewai Reserve.
The track sections are:
- Onuku Farm (outside Akaroa) to Flea Bay Cottage (11 km)
- Flea Bay Cottage to Stony Bay Cottage (8 km)
- Stony Bay Cottage to Akaroa (12 km)
{{geoGroup}}
{{PoI start}}
{{PoI|Onuku Farm Trampers' Hut|-43.844650|172.950019|NZ-CAN|}}
{{PoI|Trig GG|-43.852957|172.964386|NZ-CAN|}}
{{PoI|Mortlock's Mistake|-43.846053|172.979590|NZ-CAN|}}
{{PoI|Flea Bay Cottage|-43.866691|173.003679|NZ-CAN|}}
{{PoI|Stony Bay Cottages|-43.854491|173.037447|NZ-CAN|}}
{{PoI|Mount Vernon Lodge|-43.808057|172.981305|NZ-CAN|}}
{{PoI end}}
Flora and fauna
Among the fauna that may be observed are yellow-eyed penguins, little penguins, spotted shags, sooty shearwaters, fur seals, and Hector's dolphins. Flora observed include nikau palm, kahikatea, and tree ferns.{{cite book
| first=Jim
| last=DuFresne
| title=Tramping in New Zealand
| publisher=Lonely Planet Publications
| location=Melbourne
| year=2002
| isbn=1-74059-234-4}}
Ecotourism
The establishment and ongoing stewardship of the track is an example of ecotourism. The track was established by ten landowners, mostly farmers, as a means of supplementing income in response to the fiscal pressures caused by drought and the removal of farm subsidies in the 1980s. A limited liability company was formed to manage track operations. In return for use of the land, track maintenance, and providing accommodation, landowners are given an annual sum based on several factors, including the number of walkers, the amount of land traversed by the track and level of responsibility for track operations.
{{cite conference
| author=Hargreaves, Bob
| url=https://www.prres.org/uploads/516/1205/Hargreaves_The_Banks_Peninsular_Track_Rural_Tourism.pdf
| title=The Banks Peninsular Track-A Case Study In Rural Tourism
| year=2002
| accessdate=5 February 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.bankstrack.co.nz/ Official website]
{{coord|-43.852957|172.964386|display=title|region:NZ-CAN_dim:5000|name=Banks Track - nominal location}}
Category:Hiking and tramping tracks in the Canterbury Region