Te Araroa Walkway Links Wellington and Porirua

The completion of the first city-to-city link in the national Te Araroa Walkway means it is now possible to get off the beaten track and walk from Kelburn in central Wellington to Porirua.


The link has been developed by Wellington and Porirua City Councils in association with the Te Araroa Trust, which is working with the Department of Conservation, iwi, local authorities, groups and landowners nationwide to create a national walkway from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The trust hopes to have the walkway completed by early 2009.

To celebrate the completion of Te Araroa's first city-to-city link, Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast will unveil a stone at the Skyline Lookout at the top of the Cable Car tomorrow (Tuesday, 25 September) at 2.30pm. The stone marks the national walkway's North Island start/finish point and includes a verse from Denis Glover's 1951 poem Themes. Guests at the unveiling will include the Associate Minister of Conservation Mahara Okeroa, Porirua Mayor Jenny Brash and Te Araroa Trust Chief Executive Geoff Chapple.

Mayor Prendergast says the city is delighted to be part of the project, which has local, regional, national and tourism benefits.

"Wellington's extensive network of existing tracks had made it comparatively easy to create this section of the national walkway but staff from both Councils, and local Trust members, have worked hard to establish the best route and make it a reality," she says.

Wellington Regional Te Araroa Trust Chair Denis McLean says the route is marked with Te Araroa track markers and could potentially be done in a day.

"This is a long walk that would take 10 hours or more to do in one go but the good thing is, it can be tackled in small sections," he says. "People can do as little or as much as they want."

The 27-kilometre route follows existing tracks and country roads from Kelburn through Ohariu Valley and on to Colonial Knob in Porirua passing through the Botanic Garden, Tinakori Hill, Trelissick Park, part of the Skyline Walkway and Mt Kaukau on the way. From the summit of Mt Kaukau, the route follows part of the historic old coach road that used to run over the hill from Johnsonville to Ohariu Valley. It then heads along Ohariu Valley Road to Spicer Forest and on to Colonial Knob.

The Colonial Knob track exits on to Raiha Street but once upgrade work on the Colonial Knob Walkway is complete, walkers will be able to walk in to the town centre via the Porirua Scenic Reserve and the Raiha Walkway. 

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