Black Gully is an easy, short walk which begins at the northern end of the Blue Mountains. Located near Tapanui, there are great picnic spots and a historic play park that the kids will love! There is a fantastic campground enjoyed by locals which also has some wonderful rustic huts available for accommodation. This lesser known walk in New Zealand’s own Blue Mountains ascends through beech forest to a high point of 1019m at Tapanui Hill. The views of surrounding farmland are extensive, but the forest is probably the highlight.

This walk is a reasonably short side-trip off Route 8 between Dunedin and Queenstown. It’s near nowhere in particular, so if you are passing by this way it’s a good opportunity to stop and do the walk. The loop track starts at Black Gully and ascends through very attractive beech forest to tussock grass on high ground. Views of the surrounding farmland are extensive, but for me the beech forest was the highlight. There are also some lush sections of gully forest towards the end.

The Blue Mountains were apparently named by gold miners after their likeness to Sydney’s Blue Mountains, but to be honest I can’t see much similarity.