Image: DOC
Trampers at Nīkau Palm Gully Reserve.
Nīkau Palm Gully Scenic Reserve walk

Located in Banks Peninsula area in the Canterbury region

Walk to a small forest pocket of nīkau palms and enjoy views of the Akaroa Marine Reserve. The walks crosses private land. You need to ring the landowner beforehand to get permission.

Follow a farm track from the Onuku Farm Hostel for about 1 hour 30 minutes, winding in and out of several headlands.

From the Hostel the track enters the scenic reserve where it is signposted. Follow an open farm track which rises and falls gently while offering spectacular views of the Akaroa Harbour to a point where a staircase leads down into the creek bed of a narrow gully.

The track changes from a walking track to a tramping track as you walk down the boulder bed of the creek to where it goes over a waterfall above a sheer cliff. There are fine views along the sea-cliff faces and of the Akaroa Marine Reserve.

Crossing private land

To reach Nīkau Palm Gully you must cross private land and obtain permission to cross it. Contact Onuku Farm Hostel before you go

Phone: +64 22 025 0706

More about Onuku Farm Hostel.

The track goes through an active farm so be aware of stock such as sheep and cows.

From Akaroa, travel 4 km on Haylocks road. Continue past Onuku Marae then turn right onto Hamiltons Road, which is signposted for Onuku Farm Hostel.

Park in the small carpark on the left by the DOC direction sign. There is no parking available at the hostel. From the carpark, walk up the road and past the hostel to the start of the track.
  • Stay on the track – there is a  significant fall risk if you venture off the marked track.
  • The area is prone to rockfall after seismic activity so take care.
  • There is no water available on this track, so make sure you take drinking water. 
  • There are no toilet facilities.

Take care near stinging nettle

Urtica ferox (ongaonga) is an endemic stinging nettle and common in this area. Take care not to touch these plants as they have a very strong sting. Ongaonga are an important host plant of Vanessa gonerilla (kahukura), the endemic red admiral butterfly.

The size and number of nīkau palms in the reserve makes this one of the best coastal forest remnants in Canterbury. The nīkau is the only palm tree endemic to New Zealand and this is the southern-most extent of nīkau palms on the east coast of the South Island. The dark volcanic cliffs which soak up the heat of the sun and the mild maritime climate keep the palms frost free. Nīkau palms are slow-growing and can take up to two hundred years to reach their maximum height of 10 to 15 metres.