Puketiro Loop

Battle Hill, Wellington, New Zealand

Steep loop from Transmission Gully up Puketiro Road then down an adjacent ridge .

Intermediate

Bike and Foot

This track is completely different to the others in the Battle Hill Farm Forest Park. It follows a steep 4x4 road through the forest, climbing almost 400m then dropping back down to where it started.

At the top of the road, where this track meets Puketiro Road, there is a sign-post that says "Puketiro loop track from Battle Hill" pointing up towards the right. Climb up the steep single track to almost the summit, then drop down towards the right along a narrow ridge which eventually drops down to meet a double track that returns down the hill to the end of Transmission Gully. The video takes this route at time 7:45. Alternatively, there is a road that goes around the summit and rejoins this track at time 10:40 in the video.

If you're still keen after the steep climb from Battle Hill, there are several forestry roads in the vicinity of the summit that continue deeper into the Akatarawa Forest for the more adventurous. The main road heading east, more-or-less along the ridge initially, is Puketiro Road.

Transmission Gully (0:00-2:00) / Puketiro Loop (2:01-14:25) / Transmission Gully (14:26-end)

Follow Transmission Gully to just past the creek crossing after entering the tree line. Take the left-hand track up the hill at the start (ie. not through the gate on the right - that is the end of the track).

The loop ends less than 20 metres from where it starts, so return to the car park via Transmission Gully.

The track is one-way only, in a clockwise direction.

Most of the track is on 4x4 forestry roads, though there is a short section of narrow and technical singletrack down from the summit before rejoining the road.

6.07km

4wd

27 Sep 2009 by Ian

Ian