16/09/2026
You're spoilt for choice when it comes to walks in Peel Forest.
The Big Tree Walk is thirty minutes return, flattish and 870 metres, past tōtara and matai with the largest nearly three metres across. Suitable for almost any age, though not for strollers. The Kahikatea Walk is a flat 1.9 kilometre loop through wetland and regenerating forest, with boardwalks over the low-lying sections, about an hour. Dennistoun Bush Walk is much the same length and runs through forty hectares of pristine podocarp, one of the quietest walks in the area, though it can be muddy after rain.
For something with more in it, Acland Falls climbs steeply up a secluded gorge to a fourteen metre waterfall, about an hour return and good for older children. Emily Falls is a 1.6 kilometre climb through native tree fuchsia to a thirteen metre falls, quieter and less visited, ninety minutes return. Allans Track branches off the Acland Falls track and winds five kilometres through the podocarp forest, two to three hours.
And if someone in the group wants a proper day out, Little Mt Peel via Deer Spur is a challenging ten kilometre climb through bush onto an open ridge, with panoramic views across the Canterbury Plains to Mt Hutt and Mt Somers. Six to eight hours return. Good boots and a decent weather window are non-negotiable.
All of them well marked and managed by the Department of Conservation, and all of them a five minute drive from the house, or fifteen minutes on foot.
The full list is here: https://whakaha.com/theplace
