Mount Thomas
Mt Thomas Forest
- 3 hr 30 min loop track
- Easy/medium
Mount Thomas is a prominent hill at the edge of the Canterbury Plains. It is a good daytrip from Christchurch with views of the Puketeraki Range inland, and the Pacific Ocean and Banks Peninsula to the east.
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Walking time
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3 hr 30 min |
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Distance
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8.0km |
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Type
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Loop track
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Grade
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Easy/medium |
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Bookings
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No bookings — open access
No — open access
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Starts
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Wooded Gully Camping and Picnic Area, Hayland Road, west of Loburn |
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Maps
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NZTopo50-BW23
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Altitude
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330m
–
1,023m
Altitude change 693m
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From the Mount Thomas car park, follow the Wooded Gully Track. A creek is crossed after 1 hour and the ridge is reached after a further 45 minutes. Climb along the ridge to the right for a few minutes before breaking out onto tops. From here, it's 15 minutes to the trig at the summit.
Follow the Summit Track down a vehicle track. It bends into pine forest after 5 minutes and drops steeply to the car park. This is a quick route down, taking an hour or less but not pretty at all. An alternative but longer route down is to return to the top of the Wooded Gully Track and continue along the ridge, following the Ridge Track down.