Visiting a mall in Christchurch when you’ve fresh out of the New Zealand wopwops, is a bit of an assault to the senses – although that said I was very happy to see Santa Claus was alive, well and still allowed to travel. So I did a quick grab and dash with the groceries and headed back to the hills. Next stop – Godley Head – a winding 20 mins from Christchurch – and only three other campers, PERFECT!
Godley Head is a peninsula that is geologically part of Banks Peninsula – an ancient 9M year old basaltic volcanic cone whose remains now jut out east of Christchurch City. Over many Millenia the volcano has slowly eroding into the ocean, creating many beautiful bays, and a perfect sheltered harbour.
During WWII, the Godley Head was fortified with 60 pound field artillery howitzers to protect the Port of Lyttelton from enemy attack and/or oppose any enemy landings on the beaches. And fortuitously the DOC campsite is right next what remains of this Battery Compound.
Howitzers 
Lighthouse house 
Gunners Hole 
Gun Emplacements and control room 
Gun Emplacements 
Selfie down in the underground artillery room 
Lookout
There is also 3-4 hours of hiking to be done around Godley Head with views of Lyttelton Harbour on one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. Breath taking and hot, then cold, then hot #NZWeather
Halfway around the loop, you have the option of taking a half hour detour to a bay called Taylor’s Mistake. It was a long knee grinding downhill, but a dip in the ocean seemed perfect!
Lost a Jandal anyone?
While I was there I was treated to a good old fashioned surf live saver competition. It looked like hard work. The guy in the pink won – he had very large rotund butt muscles – so I decided that it must be an advantage!!
My swim was fresh, but as the sun was getting low and I was still at least an hour from camp, I reluctantly made my way back to the guns.
Mooching It with Juliet Jones 