Godley Head / Awaroa Loop Track

Please check the website as the gun emplacements and the toilets and camp site at Godley Head are closed are closed.  There are detours in place.

Awaroa/Godley Head closures

The Awaroa/Godley Head Lighthouse Cottage and Campsite are closed temporarily.

This is because unsafe levels of asbestos and other contaminants were found in some areas. The area that people need to avoid is marked. The gun emplacements are also included in this closed off area. There is no public access to the camping area or military compound.

The main car park and toilets are now open, no access is permitted beyond here.

Godley Head Loop Track has a bypass in place because the track is closed where it passes through the military compound.

This is a long-term alert.

This walk features a beach, coastal views and WWII remains - plenty to keep children interested.

Walking and tramping: 3 hour 8 km

Mountain biking:  Intermediate Grade 3

Dog access: Dogs on a leash only

Full details of this walk and a map is available on the AllTrails App

The track hugs the coastline, offering views back to Whitewash Head and across Pegasus Bay to the Kaikoura Ranges. 

From the Taylors Mistake car park make your way behind the beach to the start of the Pilgrims Way Coastal Track. The track offers views of places where old cave dwellings used to be built into the hillside, as well as views down to the rocks and sea below.

Passing Boulder Bay, the track climbs up to the headland and the historic Godley Head coastal defence battery.  t passes two of the first gun platforms to reach the Godley Battery Compound. From here the Godley Head Gun Emplacements the track carries on around the nose of the headland, past the historic military buildings and bunkersincluding the Battery Observation posts located at the entrance to Lyttelton Harbour. Good views of the city and coastline south can be had from the headland. There are toilets at the car park at Godley Head.

From there the Breeze Col Loop Track climbs high above Breeze Bay, offering sweeping views of Lyttelton Harbour and Banks Peninsula, until it drops back down to Breeze Col.

Follow the Black Rock track down for 20 minutes to the Pilgrims Way Coastal Track. Turn left there to walk back to Taylors Mistake Beach and car park.

Scott's Cabin  Take the short easy walk to visit the historic Scotts Cabin with fantastic views.

This small hut on Godley Head has ties to Scott’s failed Antarctic Terra Nova expedition of 1910-1913. While the inside is not open to the public, you can walk on the viewing platform on the roof or peer in through the windows to see the interior. There is interpretation on site about the history of the Cabin.

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is possible from the Taylors Mistake car park up the Anaconda Track to Breeze Col. You can also mountain bike on the track below the Summit Road from Breeze Col to the Godley Head car park and toilets.