December 13, 2023 Escarpment Track (Day 77)

We checked the weather, and double checked (considering yesterday’s storm) and were satisfied that today is the day to tackle the 10km Escarpment Track! We were up early, packed our daily supplies and caught the 7:23am bus to Wellington Station. We intended to catch the train to Pukerua Bay on the Kapiti Coast, but it was replaced with a bus for track maintenance. So our trip north took a little longer (and bumpier) but we finally made it to the start of the track, a part of the Te Araroa Track that traverses the entirety of New Zealand!

The yellow line on the sign map shows the track.

The bus dropped us off below the hill where the track starts so we had a little extra walking to do!

Last chance to bail! No amenities on the trail!

The view after you walk through a little residential area. The trail then follows next to the train tracks and is lined with kawakawa bushes. We picked a few leaves to chew while on the trail. They tend to be a little astringent, so it keeps you drinking water to stay hydrated!

Once on the track proper we looked back towards the tiny town of Pukerua Bay. Puke rua means two hills in Maori, maybe referring to the two sweeps of shoreline on the bay?

The first of two swing bridges, saved a lot of hill descending and climbing!

The track used to go that way, but a landslide (a mere ‘slip’ as landslides are called here) caused a temporary detour to be constructed. Posts and a rope railing to hang onto and pull yourself up were thoughtfully provided!

There were no end of hill descents and climbs! I quit counting stairs after 300. It is said there are over 500 stairs (I beg to differ, I would say more like 1000!)

The views are worth every step! Kapiti Island is in the distance.

Just over the summit of the track is this view, looking almost tropical!

About midway on the track there is welcome shade in small pockets of forest, otherwise you are out in the sun and breeze! It was fairly calm and we were thankful for some shade early on in the hike due to having started by 8:23am! By noon the breeze was picking up, we could see whitecaps on the water far below us!

Arriving at the end of the track in the small town of Paikakariki (pie-kaka-reekee), meaning parakeet perch. The parakeet being the kakariki, or New Zealand parakeet. We saw a few way up in Bay of Islands and thought they were an introduced species!

We covered 6.7 miles in 4hours, 15 minutes, over 16,500 steps according to my walking app! A short rest in Paekakariki and we boarded the train for a smooth 45 minute ride back to Wellington, a well deserved rest, and a grilled fish dinner!

December 12, 2023 Sun to Rain (Day 76)

A beautiful morning sent us out to town on some errands. It was clam, sunny and warm, unusually calm we’re led to believe, this being Windy Welly! We visited the waterfront on our walk around town.

We found the Paddy Fountain! We learned about Paddy the Wanderer at the Wellington Museum.

More beautiful murals in random places around town!

We headed home on the bus and none too soon! A ‘Wellington Southerly’ suddenly descended, the sky darkened, the wind whipped and thunder pealed! Then the hail came, pea sized pellets banged and crashed on the skylights and against the south facing windows! It was roaring! Our hosts messaged us to ask if we’re okay. They live up the hill from the bach we’re in. We messaged back that everything is intact down here! They replied “always a relief to hear things are ok after a Wellington southerly – it’s dramatic isn’t it – comes in with a hiss and a roar and the sky blackens – worst is over in the first quarter of hour or so”.  And so it was!

Hail covered the gravel driveway! There were still piles of hail in spots on the road the next morning!

December 11, 2023 Waikanae (Day 75)

Waikanae (pronounced why-kin-eye) is the end of the line for the Kapiti rail line out of Wellington. Of course we have to go to the end of the line!

All Aboard, track 4 to Waikanae!

We took the bus into the city, to Wellington Station and hopped the commuter train up the Kapiti Coast to the small town of Waikanae.

Enjoying the view through the big train windows.

The station at Waikanae is inland so we caught another short ride on the bus to Waikanae Beach.

Our first glimpse of Waikanae Beach between 2 Monterey Pines on the dunes.

The Kapiti Coast is named for the big island close to shore here, Kapiti Island which dominates the horizon. It is a pest/predator free nature reserve that is home to several native bird species that are thriving there. You can visit by special permit with Department of Conservation approved tour operators, for a hefty price! After walking the sandy beach, looking at the shells and driftwood tossed on the shore, we caught the bus back to the station. We caught a returning train and hopped off at the next town south, Paraparaumu (para-pa-rauw-moo) to check out the beach there.

Fishing boats were being pulled out of the water by cars and a tractor!

This town is a little larger, with more going on, mainly fishing boats returning. The boat was beached and a trailer was rolled down to it then a winch pulled the boat up onto the trailer. A car or the tractor with high wheels would then drive the boat away! Kapiti island is the backdrop.

Across the street from the beach was a familiarly named restaurant!

We meandered around town and finally caught a bus back to the station and the train back to Wellington. It was a nice smooth ride!

December 10, 2023 Bits and Pieces (Day 74)

A day of rest since it was forecast that it would be a rainy, windy day, and it was! So here’s some bits and pieces of our last few days.

Artwork even on manhole covers in Miramar!

The Kaka parrot painted on the Karori water tower.

A view from the hills overlooking the suburb of Karori. Cook Strait is in the distance on the right and a bit of Wellington Harbour can be seen in the upper left.

In the Wellington Museum Attic, between two mundane exhibits.

The explanation of the sculpture. Archibald Baxter was one of several conscientious objectors during WW1, who was jailed, beaten, starved, sent to the front, and bound to a post in freezing conditions for 4 hours a day for his beliefs that war is ultimately futile.

The last paragraph if you can’t read it is;

“War will always draw both support and opposition. Supporters emphasize the bravery and sacrifice of those who fight, but it also takes courage and sacrifice to oppose war. In a time of WW1 remembrance, the Baxter sculpture highlights a lesser-known history.”

Quite a juxtaposition between this small sculpture in one museum, and the huge Gallipoli exhibit in the other museum. Makes one think.

More about Archibald Baxter HERE.

December 9, 2023 Museum Day (Day 73)

It was windy today, VERY windy, but that’s common in Wellington we’ve heard. No hiking on ridges for us today, instead we rode the bus into Wellington city centre to visit some of the free museums available. Almost immediately after we got off the bus we passed an historic building that wasn’t even on our list, the Old Government Buildings. Signage beckoned us through the open doors and a gentleman met us and gave us a quick explanation of the building and a leaflet guide and we set off to see the building.

The facade of the Old Government Buildings. It looks like stone but is built entirely of wood!

The foyer is aglow with the rich unblemished by knots, honey tones of kauri wood. Dressed for the Christmas season.

This sign outside describes more of the uniqueness of this building.

We moved on up the road to our original destination, another wood building from the 1860’s. This one a church built of wood due to the 1855 earthquake that shook Wellington so bad that stone buildings were deemed unsafe! Old St. Paul’s (because a new cathedral was built in the 1960’s that the church moved to) was empty from 1964 to 1967 when the government finally bought it and it was restored by the NZ Historic Places Trust. A beautiful building using native timbers.

Kauri wood was used for the roof (not the beams), the walls and the pews.

Heading south towards the waterfront we passed the ‘Beehive’ and the Parliament Buildings. They allow tours but you need to book in advance.

The old and the new. The Beehive houses the Executive Wing of the NZ Parliament. It’s construction began in 1969 and was completed in 1981. The Parliament building was built around 1922.

We next headed to an art museum. The NZ Portrait Gallery, in one of the ‘sheds’ of the waterfront, repurposed when the waterfront was reclaimed from an industrial wasteland and turned into a hub of cultural, social and artistic activity. We moved on to the Wellington Museum, housed in another old building on the waterfront, the Bond Store that in it’s day held incoming cargo until the duties were duly paid on the goods! This museum was much more eclectic and interactive!

Having fun in the Maritime heritage exhibit!

And more fun in ‘the Attic’!

After another art museum, the City Gallery, we ended up back at Te Papa, nickname for ‘The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’ to see some of the exhibits we missed last visit. We finished up going through “The Scale of Our War” an exhibit about New Zealanders in the battle of Gallipoli in WW1. It was sobering and totally mesmerizing. Especially the visuals on the damage various munitions; bullets, shrapnel, shells and grenades, can inflict on a body. We were so engrossed that we ended up being ushered out at closing time again!