The Port Hills

Recreation and facilities

Cass Peak Reserve

Cass Peak Reserve and Kennedys Bush.

The reserve is traversed by the Crater Rim Walkway, and offers excellent views of the Harbour and Allendale. The summit of Cass Peak is 546m.

Cass Peak is historically known to the local Maori as O-Rongo-Mai, 'the place where voices are heard.' Illustrative of the bloody pre-European history of the hills, this is associated with the North Island Ngai Tahu invasion of the area 300 years ago. According to legend, Ngai Tahu warriors slaughtered a hunting party from the Ngati Mamoe Pa, after detecting them by the sound of their voices.

Although acquired through Robert Allan and Heaton Rhodes, the reserve is named after Thomas Cass, the pioneer surveyor.

Access

Summit Road, and the Crater Rim Walkway.

Facilities

• The Crater Rim Walkway passes by on the Lyttleton Harbour side below Cass Peak. You can access this from the Sign of the Bellbird carpark off Summit Road.
• A short loop track above the Summit Road is also signposted.

Wildlife and plant life

The reserve is almost entirely covered by native bush, including montane totara and other specimens not found elsewhere on the Hills. Although relatively small, this patch of bush is of value in that it is one of the few in the hills that adjoin the road, and provides habitat for birds and insects.