Walk This Way: Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard

By Roselyn Fauth

Probably like you, I am frustrated I don’t own a private jet that can whisk me off to cocktails in the Maldives, or croquettes and galleries in Amsterdam. To be honest, anything that requires accommodation for our family feels a bit out of reach at the moment. So I’ve been thinking closer to home, about how we find rest, joy and adventure without packing a suitcase or checking our bank balance.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realised that one of the easiest ways to find free fun is simply to go for a wander, slow down and take notice.

Timaru District has always rewarded people who walk. Long before roads and rail, this place was known and used by Māori as a landscape of movement... along rivers, across plains, between coast and hills. Later came whalers, boatmen, farmers, rail workers and holidaymakers. All of them arrived on foot before they arrived any other way.

So let’s start where many journeys here begin... 

Walk this way: the Bay

Caroline Bay has been pulling people towards it for nearly two centuries. Sheltered by basalt reefs, it became a place of refuge for ships, a whaling station in the 1840s, and later the reason Timaru could exist at all. Te Maru means place of shelter — and you can still feel that when you stand on the sand and look back at the town.

By the early 1900s, locals realised something special was happening. Harbour works created a beach where none had existed before, and suddenly Timaru had a seaside playground. By 1928, Caroline Bay was being proudly marketed as the Riviera of New Zealand — a far more inspired idea than a former mayor’s description of Timaru as the town of the three Ps: petrol, pies and a place to pee.

A walk around the Bay today still tells that story. Start at the Piazza, wander past the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden, follow the memorial wall — reputedly the longest war memorial in the country — and loop past the Soundshell and Tearooms. Look closely and you’ll spot reminders of earlier lives: the try pot near the Wai-iti Road underpass from the Weller brothers’ whaling days, Timaru bluestone worked by hand, and artworks that quietly mark moments of peace, loss and celebration.

From here, you can keep walking. Head north along the Coastal Track towards Pātītī Point, where penguins sometimes appear at dusk. Or climb up to the Benvenue Cliffs and look back over the Bay, imagining when the sea once broke against bare rock below.

 

Walk inland: gardens, streams and green space

If the sea isn’t calling, walk the other way... to the Timaru Botanic Gardens are a masterclass in how walking slows you down. Established in the late 1800s, they reflect a time when civic pride was expressed through trees, paths and carefully planted views. You can wander past the rose gardens, the Cenotaph, the aviary and the duck ponds, or simply follow your curiosity. There’s no right route here — and that’s part of the joy.

Centennial Park offers something different again. Sixty-five hectares of paths, lake edges, bush pockets and open space, all created on land once worked and quarried. Walkers, runners, kids on bikes, dogs on leads — everyone finds their own rhythm here. It’s a reminder that recreation doesn’t have to be spectacular to be meaningful.

Follow Saltwater Creek or Otipua Creek and you start to see how water shapes this place. These tracks quietly stitch neighbourhoods together, leading you into the Otipua Wetlands where birds, basalt walls and restored planting tell a story of regeneration. This is free fun that also happens to be ecological restoration in action.

 

Walk a little further: towns and stories

Head to Temuka and walk the Taumatakahu Stream Reserve, named for a place once known as Te Umu Kaha — the place of the hot ovens. This was a food-rich landscape long before it became a township, and the gentle path through town still follows that logic of sustenance and gathering.

In Geraldine, the Waihi River Walk and Sculpture Trail invite you to notice how art, water and community intersect. A riverside stroll becomes a quiet gallery. Talbot Forest, the last remnant of ancient podocarp forest in the area, reminds you what once covered much of South Canterbury before farming reshaped it.

 

Walk into the past: hills, forests and farms

Further out again, the walks change character — and scale.

Peel Forest feels like stepping back into deep time. Some of the tōtara and kahikatea on the Big Tree Walk may be close to a thousand years old. Saw pits and tramway remnants tell the harder story of what was lost, while tracks like Dennistoun Bush and Fern Walk show what remains because someone chose protection over profit.

Beyond that, the Hunter Hills, Orari Gorge, Pareora River and Central South Trail reveal why Timaru became known as the country’s food bowl. Our soils, climate and hard graft supported farming, employment and export. Walk past paddocks, limestone cliffs and river crossings and you’re walking through the foundations of the local economy — not as a museum exhibit, but as a living landscape.

 

There’s plenty of research now showing that local exploration, slow travel and everyday nature experiences improve wellbeing, connection and resilience. But honestly, Timaru people have always known this intuitively.

We’ve been doing it without calling it anything fancy.
We walk to clear our heads.
We walk to show the kids something.
We walk to remember.
We walk because it’s there.

Make your own free fun, because ultimately, Timaru — like many smaller cities and towns will be what you make of it. Luckily for us, it’s all here. The coast, the rivers, the coast, the gardens, the forests, the stories...

One way to find free fun is to go for a wander.
Another is to notice what you’re walking through.

Walk this way.
Find your own WuHoo.

 

Walk This Way

Timaru District trails, all in one place... just pick the vibe and the distance, and go. Most of these walks need nothing more than decent shoes, water, and a bit of daylight. Times listed are walking times.

Timaru City

Caroline Bay loop (Piazza to Benvenue Cliffs)

30–45 mins, 2–3 km, easy–medium, some wheelchair access
Start Piazza steps. See Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden, Memorial Wall (built 1920s, this used to be Timaru's Port Resort shoreline), spy lions on the  Palliser Fountain, skate park, play at CPlay championed by the community as a fun, free, accessible and meaningful space to play, Benvenue Cliffs views named after a ship that wrecked and was buried in the sand below, Sound Shell, bird aviary. Note that you cant take your dogs to the beach in the Summer. Only from 1 Apr–30 Sept only.

Timaru Circuit Trail

25–30 km, easy–medium
~100 mins bike / ~7 hrs walk. Eight connected tracks forming a circuit around Timaru. Do it all or pick sections. 

Centennial Park

1 hr, 5 km, easy, wheelchair friendly areas, dogs off-lead
A 65-hectare park with lake hub, picnic areas, toilets, playgrounds, BMX, MTB skills area, pump track, multiple walking and MTB tracks.

Claremont Bush Track

30 mins, 1 km, medium, steep, no dogs
Short native bush loop with bellbirds and fantails. Can be slippery when wet. Access via Claremont Bush Road (gravel).

Dashing Rocks Coastal Track

30 mins, 2.2 km, easy, dogs on-lead
Coastal cliffs, Blackett’s Lighthouse, shipwreck coastline, and 2 million year old lava from Mt Horrible.

Otipua Creek Track

20 mins, 1.5 km, easy, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Start Coonoor Road. Creekside link toward Centennial Park, paddocks and birdlife.

Otipua Wetlands Track

1 hr, 4 km, easy
Gravel loops around a 4-hectare lake, swans and royal spoonbills, basalt lava rock wall. North side dogs on-lead, south side bikes ok.

Saltwater Creek Track

30 mins, 2.2 km, easy, flat, wheelchair accessible, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Start King Street bridge. Links to Otipua Creek (via Coonoor Rd) and to Wetlands (via SH1, take care crossing).

Coastal Track

1 hr, 5.7 km one way, easy, dogs off-lead, bikes great
Start Fraser St, Pātītī Point, or cemetery. Sea views, occasional seal/penguin/surfer. Bike repair + fountain at Fraser St. Ends at breakwater, continues by road links back to Caroline Bay.

Timaru Botanic Gardens

30 mins–1 hr, 2–2.5 km, easy–medium, some wheelchair access, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Start Queen Street. Conservatory and Fernery, Anderson Rose Garden, Cenotaph + memorial wall, duck pond, Queen Victoria Sunken Garden, aviary, playground, Robert Burns statue, Interpretation Centre.

Tuhawaiki (Jack’s) Point

1 hr, 5 km return, medium, dogs off-lead, bikes ok
Start Scarborough Rd or Ellis Rd (more parking). Lighthouse built 1903 by Timaru Harbour Board, originally from Somes Island (1866). Watch for penguins and seals, keep dogs under control.

Temuka

Opihi River Track

3 hrs one way, 11 km, medium, dogs off-lead, bikes ok
Stopbank route Temuka to Pleasant Point. Picnic, swim, fish. Arrange pickup or return same way.

Taumatakahu Stream Reserve

1 hr, 3.5 km, easy, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Start Studholme Street, streamside through town to Shaw Street. Can link via Murray Street and cemetery to Allan Jones Walkway.

Allan Jones Walkway

1 hr, 3.5 km, easy, dogs off-lead, bikes ok
Start Temuka Domain by Police Station. Torepe Fields (off-lead area, frisbee golf), gum trees loop. Includes Little Kiwi Trail.

Waitohi Bush

20–40 mins, 1–3 km, medium, dogs on-lead
Bush walks, birdlife, big district views. Campground with toilet, picnic area, BBQ, running water. Access via Main Waitohi Rd → Galbraith Rd.

Little Kiwi Trail

20–30 mins, 1.5 km, easy, dogs off-lead, bikes ok
Temuka Domain. Follow 10 signs based on Bob Darroch’s Time For Bed Little Kiwi.

Geraldine

River Walk (Waihi River)

30 mins, 2.5 km, easy, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Town-centre riverside track via Rhododendron Dell (best in spring) and sculptures near Todd Park.

Ribbonwood Track

1 hr, 4.5 km, medium, dogs off-lead, bikes ok
Steep climb with wide views. Route uses Ribbonwood Rd then Pye Rd and Davies St to loop.

Pekapeka Gully Track

1 hr, 3.8 km, medium, dogs off-lead, bikes ok
Start Hislop Street end. Ridge track with views. Named for long-tailed bat (pekapeka), sometimes seen at dusk.

Geraldine Sculpture Trail

20 mins, 700 m, easy, wheelchair accessible, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Currently sculptures viewable at Todd Park (trail under development).

Waihi River Trail

45 mins, 1.6 km, easy, dogs on-lead
Kennedy Park riverbanks, spring rhododendrons, early sculptures.

Rhododendron Dell Trail

50 mins, 1.8 km, easy, dogs on-lead
Short, birdsong-rich stroll, especially colourful in spring.

Talbot Forest Scenic Reserve (DOC)

Ancient podocarp remnant. Reserve created 1879, added 1886 and 1962.
Short tracks (all easy, dogs on-lead):

  • Kahikatea Track: 680 m, 10 mins

  • Matai Track: 680 m, 10 mins

  • Reservoir Track: 225 m, 5 mins

  • Tōtara Track: 300 m, 5 mins (largest tōtara about 800 years old)

Domain Trail

1 hr, 2 km, easy, wheelchair accessible, dogs on-lead, bikes ok
Geraldine Domain loop, playground, open-air pool, street art nearby.

Peel Forest Park Scenic Reserve (no dogs)

Big Tree Walk

30 mins, 1.6 km, easy
Huge mataī, kahikatea, tōtara (some thought ~1,000 years old), old bush tramway remnants.

Dennistoun Bush

1 hr, 1.8 km, easy, flat
40 hectares of ancient forest, historic saw pit side trip, hollow tōtara stump near Brake Road.

Kahikatea Walk

1 hr, 1.9 km, easy
Boardwalks over wet areas, saw pit remnants, kahikatea swamp forest.

Emily Falls

1 hr, 3.2 km, medium
Down to Emily Stream and falls, named for Emily Acland.

<h3">Fern Walk

1 hr 30 mins, 3.3 km, easy
Mills Bush giant podocarps protected in 1881 by Arthur Mills. Many fern species, good birdlife.

Acland Falls via Allans Track

Acland Falls: 1 hr, 1.6 km, medium (falls 14 m)
Allans Track: 3 hrs, 5 km, advanced
Named for J B Acland (falls) and botanist H H B Allan (track).

Little Mount Peel / Huatekerekere

  • Via Deer Spur: 4–6 hrs, 9.2 km, advanced (summit 1311 m)

  • Via South Ridge: 7 hrs, 7 km, advanced (steep, scrambly)

Wider District

Kakahu Bush Track

3 hrs, 8 km, medium, no dogs
Historic wooden tramway route, Pinnacles Lookout, Balancing Rock. Carpark by limestone kiln on Hall Road.

Kakahu Escarpment Track

10 mins, 500 m, easy, no dogs
Limestone cliffs and “mushroom” rocks. Culturally significant site, treat with respect.

Orari Gorge Track (Orari Scenic Reserve)

1 hr 30 mins, 3.3 km, easy, no dogs
Old bush tramway start, regenerating forest, kānuka stands, loop return.

Pareora Pioneer Park Conservation Area

  • Homebush Track: 30 mins, 1 km, easy, dogs off-lead (big tōtara, Burke Hut memorial)

  • White Pine Track: 2 hrs, 5 km, medium, dogs on-lead (stream crossings, some rock work)

Mt Nimrod (Hunter Hills)

3–4 hrs, 3 km, advanced, no dogs
Loop track with lookout views and waterfall through a rock arch.

Pareora River Track

1 hr 30 mins, 3.8 km, medium, dogs off-lead
Riverbank to the dam (about 40 mins). Uneven/muddy in winter. Do not swim near dam. River crossings at Evans Crossing can be hazardous.

Central South Trail

  • Washdyke → Pleasant Point: 13 km, easy–medium, ~3 hrs walk / 1 hr bike

  • Pleasant Point → Cave: 15 km, easy–medium, ~3.5 hrs walk / 1 hr bike
    Start at Sir Basil Arthur Park (Washdyke) or Cave, or do half from Pleasant Point Town Square.