Te Whiti

Hutt Valley, Wellington, New Zealand

Firebreak from Outer Loop down to Te Whiti Park.

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Bike and Foot

This is a steep - in some places extremely steep - firebreak that drops down a ridgeline from the Outer Loop to Te Whiti Park. Over a length of barely 1.5km the track drops 320m in altitude with only a couple of rests - giving an average gradient of 21%, though some sections are in excess of 30%.

About a third of the way down there is a small plateau. Immediately next to the track, on the eastern side, is a pond for fire fighting. To the west is a small clearing leading to the entrance of the "Konini Saddle Track" that goes through the Hayward Scenic Reserve.

About 0.2km further down hill is a short section that can be best described as a cliff. Approach with caution, since it is not ridable by mere mortals. Instead, take the short detour to the right (as shown on the map).

Rejoin the main firebreak and continue down the hill, trying to not collide with the black and white survey mark pole that is in the middle of the track. Though that shouldn't be difficult because, apart from the cliff detour, the firebreak is wide enough to provide plenty of options regarding choice of line through the ruts and rocks.

The track ends with a large steel gate and concrete block barricade, which is easily circumvented.

Starts from a clearing at the top of the third, and final, precipitous stage of Outer Loop, off ECNZ pylon road. Note that this is towards the northern end of Outer Loop - there is another firebreak off the southern end of Outer Loop.

Ends on the sealed perimeter path around Te Whiti Park, just north of the clubrooms. Follow this path to the south, to exit onto Whites Line East.

This track is on the northern border of Hayward Scenic Reserve. See Friends of Waiwhetu's Hayward Scenic Reserve for further information, including a map of the many walking tracks in the reserve.

1.51km

Double track

15 Mar 2009 by Ian

Ian