Visiting Fairyland in Canterbury
1 June 2020 / Walks / Mark Lincoln
If you have young children, whether you’re a painted rock enthusiast or not, you’re going to love Fairyland at Leithfield Beach. And if you don’t have young children… go anyway. It’s a nice walk with something that will appeal to anyone.
As a Rangiora resident, I’d made the 20 minute drive to Leithfield Beach a few times with the kids. It’s a nice place to explore that’s away from the crowds. Along with a playground, there are pleasant ambles through the forest, and the beach itself is mostly rocks and pebbles which makes for more interesting exploring for the kids with the added benefit of less chance to get sand in your camera lens.
After the COVID-19 lockdown, a colleague gave me a tip off about Fairyland; a new addition to the forest at the south end of Leithfield. Apparently the local residents got bored during the lockdown and got to work painting rocks.
Rather than just the occasional randomly placed rock, Fairlyland consists of a large number of scenes that have been created by the locals. Everything from rock concerts (brilliant) to Fraggle Rock (of course), plus a few wooden structures and other mysterious sculptures along the way.
I’ve posted a few samples below, but this is less than a tenth of what you can expect to find.
How to get to Fairyland
Head north from Christchurch on State Highway 1 for 40 minutes. As Pukeko Junction approaches on the left, take a right turn, following the sign for Leithfield Beach (not to Leithfield itself as that would be inland of the highway).
After entering the 30kph zone, you’ll see a sign pointing to the left for the beach lookout car park. Ignore that and follow the road to the right and keep going until you get to a small grassy car park at the end.
Park up, look into the trees, and you’ll see the first signs of Fairyland.
