Dela Rosa
Name
Dela Rosa
Location
Pakuratahi Forest, Wellington, New Zealand
Overview
Smooth gravel road from the Rimutaka Hill Road (State Highway 2) to Back Road near the Rimutaka Rail Trail.
Grade
Intermediate
Access
Bike and Foot
Description
The track initially ascends about 40m from the Rimutaka Hill Road. Then, apart from a couple of short ascents, the track descends 235m at a near constant 9-11% gradient to meet Back Road less than 0.5km from the Rimutaka Rail Trail.
Along the way there are intermittent patches of tarseal. Given the well formed nature of the otherwise gravel road, it is possible that the road was once sealed throughout its entire length. In any case, the road surface is smooth and firm - making for a fast descent and relatively easy ascent.
Getting there
The eastern end of the track is at a small parking area about 1.2km from the summit of Rimutaka Hill, on the Wellington side.
The western end meets Back Road just up hill from where Back Road deviates from Rimutaka Rail Trail and heads up a parallel valley.
Other notes
The name for this track comes from the signpost at the intersection with Back Road, which says "Via Dela Rosa to SH2 Rimutaka Hill". In Spanish "de la rosa" means "the rose", though what relevance that has to this track is unclear.
Length
4.20km
Conditions
Gravel road
Last modified
5 Jan 2009 by Ian
Created by
Ian
Google goodness
Download GPS path: kml
