Explore Wellington: City to Sea Walkway
Walk through Wellington's beautiful parks and discover picturesque views, stunning flora and fauna and some early history of the area.
The City to Sea Walkway guides you along part of the Town Belt from the Botanic Garden, through parts of historic Aro Valley, Newtown, Berhampore and Island Bay.
The City to Sea Walkway starts in the heart of central Wellington near Parliament and ends at the south coast, 12 kilometres away in Island Bay.
Along the way, you will visit the Botanic Garden and two historic cemeteries, pass several observatories, see the famous Cable Car, Victoria University and a plant nursery, walk through part of Aro Valley with its turn-of-the-century cottages, 14 parks and reserves, several children's play areas, a public golf course, along bushy Town Belt tracks, exposed ridge tops and through native and exotic vegetation.
You will get spectacular views of central Wellington, the southern suburbs of Newtown, Berhampore and Island Bay, Government House, historic Erskine College, the Brooklyn wind turbine, Mount Victoria, Mount Kaukau and Cook Strait, as well as more distant views of the Tararua, Rimutaka and Kaikoura ranges.
The walk takes about six hours but can be done in stages. The route is described here from the city to sea but marker posts mean it can be walked in either direction. You can catch a No 1 bus to the city from Island Bay, and other services at several points along the way.
View a printable map (part one, part two), marking points of interest along the way.
You can pick up copies of all the Explore Wellington brochures from the Wellington Railway Station, Wellington Airport or i-SITE Visitor Centre (corner Victoria and Wakefield Streets).
- Address:
- Bolton Street
Aro Valley
The rain beating down on the roof of the hotel should have given us a hint.
The day started nicely with breakfast with Geoff and a chat with Sally and Alan then we headed for the hills. Richard had brought his boots and a very flash all conditions gortex coat. I thought this was a bit over the top for an urban walk and had running shoes and a shower proof nylon coat. We set off map in hand. Fortunately I had brought a plastic bag for it or it would have been paper mashie. Initially it was light showers. Then the showers got heavier and the wind started to pick up. After 2 hours we climbed steeply on to a ridge behind a golf course. At this point the wind was very strong and blew us along the ridge and the rain was bucketing down. We descended into the Owhiro Bay I was completely soaked and even Richards boots were full of water. It was not a difficult decision to abandon any idea of returning via the track via Mt Victoria to Oriental Parade and it was a matter of traversing the ridge between Island and Owhiro Bays. This meant walking into the wind and rain. You had to shelter the eyes and just put up with the stinging on the face that was not covered by the arm or the whiskers. It was a couple of drowned rats that awaited the bus at Island Bay 3 hours after we had left the city. I feel sorry for who ever used our bus seats once we got out of them.