Southern walkway

Central City, Wellington, New Zealand

11 km walk from Oriental Parade over Mt Victoria to Island Bay

Easy

Bike and Foot (bicycle only in some sections)

The Southern Walkway (Te Ranga a Hiwi) is a well signposted walk which can be done from end-to-end, or in sections. Beginning from Oriental Parade the walk starts near the eastern end of the bay and climbs steeply (but on sealed paths and steps in many places) up to Mt Victoria, optionally going past the lookout on the top (peak is about 196 metres asl). The climb up from Oriental Parade is for walkers only, but there are plenty of mountain biking routes on Mt Victoria. There is a famous spot about mid-way along Mt Victoria where a scene from Lord of the Rings was filmed - it is signposted at 41deg18'9.94"S, 174deg 47'20.52"E.

After about 1 hours walk the track crosses the highway near the Mt Victoria tunnel and continues into Newtown and Kilbernie, past the Truby King Park (Karitane Products), Wellington zoo, through Melrose Park and up on to Mt Albert. There are many side tracks along this stretch of the walk but the track is now well signposted - if you do wander from the main track it is easy to rejoin it again. For mountain biking tracks in this area see Southern Suburbs.

After crossing Houghton Bay road the track descends through Sinclair Park to The Esplanade, and the last kilometre continues right along the coastline of Taputeranga marine reserve to Island Bay. There is a bus stop at the corner of Reef St and The Parade, and there are also shops here if you require refreshment.

Park in Oriental Parade or walk round from Courtenay Place bus station. There is a bus terminus at the end of Island Bay where the walk starts/finishes.

11.25km

Double track

546m 538m 4m 12m

27 Sep 2009 by ledzep

ledzep