Favourite walks around Wellington

I love to walk around Wellington.  As the saying goes you can’t beat Wellington on a good day.  I have learned that you can’t hold out for the ‘good days’ here and that you have to get outside otherwise you’ll get a little stir crazy.  On any given week I usually walk home from work, walk to a softball game or two and take an evening stroll along the beach – one of the benefits of living in NZ.

On the weekends when I have a little more time I like to go on some of the longer walks in Wellington.  I’m a member of a meet up group called ‘Welly Walks’ and the council have even released an app called ‘Welly Walks’

Te Raekaihau –  (‘the headland that eats the wind’) this is my favourite walk because I can start right from my house, walk down along Lyall Bay and up the reserve.  The views from the top are breathtaking and this is a good combination of hills and easy walking along the flat.   It marks the boundary of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, which aims to return the marine habitats to a more natural state and increase the size and abundance of fish. There is a coastal path that leads to Princess Bay, a popular swimming spot.

Views over Lyall Bay

Eastern Walkway – The Eastern Walkway extends along the southern end of Miramar Peninsula from the Pass of Branda to Tarakena Bay. The track is 2.5 km long and takes about 1.5 hours to complete. The track surface is mainly gravel and much of the track is exposed.  This is classified as an easy walk.  I usually get dropped off at the start and then make my way to the Ataturk Memorial and then along the waterfront back to Lyall Bay.

City to Sea – The City to Sea Walkway starts in the heart of central Wellington near Parliament and ends at the south coast, 12km away in Island Bay.  I usually break this up into two walks.  One from the Botanical Gardens to Newtown (3hours) and then from Newtown to Island Bay (3hours).

Along the way, you will:

• visit the Botanic Garden and two historic cemeteries
• see the famous Cable Car, Victoria University and a plant nursery
• walk through part of Aro Valley with its turn-of-the-century cottages, 14 parks and reserves, several children’s play areas, and public golf course
• walk along bushy Town Belt tracks, exposed ridge tops and through native and exotic vegetation
• get spectacular views of central Wellington, the southern suburbs of Newtown, Berhampore and Island Bay, Government House, historic Erskine College, the Brooklyn wind turbine, Mount Victoria, Mount Kaukau and Cook Strait
• see the more distant views of the Tararua, Rimutaka and Kaikoura ranges.

And check out some of the best hikes in New Zealand.