Lovers Leap and the Chasm
- 40 min return via same tracks
- Easy
Two dramatic viewpoints on the southern coastline of Otago Peninsula
Walking time
|
40 min |
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Distance
|
2.0km |
Type
|
Return via same tracks
|
Grade
|
Easy |
Bookings
|
No bookings — open access
No — open access
|
Starts
|
Sandymount Scenic Reserve, Sandymount Road, off Highcliff Road south of Portobello |
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Maps
|
NZTopo50-CE17
NZTopo50-CE18 |
Altitude
|
200m
–
230m
Altitude change 30m
|
From the car park, a four-wheel drive track leads along a spooky avenue of macrocarpa pines to a gate by an old farm building. Follow the track over farmland to a signposted junction. A poled track to the right leads to the Lovers Leap viewpoint, while a poled track to the left leads to the Chasm. Both these locations are very impressive, being sheer drops of 200m. Take extreme caution with children in these areas as cliff edges are unfenced.
The Lovers Leap track can be very muddy and slippery after rain. It leads to a small viewing platform perched on the edge of the cliff. The sea has carved a notch into the cliff here and tunneled out an arch. Basalt columns are visible in the face of the cliff here. You can see a different view of columnar basalt at the Organ Pipes.
The Chasm is similar although the sea no longer enters into the floor of the notch. The better view seems to be from the side opposite the viewing platform. Take care around the cliff edge as what was once a protective fence has been trampled to ground level and would now serve as a potentially lethal cliff-edge trip wire.