Tuesday, 28 March 2016
Location: The entrance is at the top of Wainuiomata Hill by the Lookout, Lower Hutt, Wellington. There is only parking on one side of the road and you are not able to u-turn on the hill. You will need to drive over the hill to Wainuiomata from Lower Hutt and then use the roundabout to return back up the hill. The carpark is just past the footbridge.
Use the footbridge to cross the road. On the other side you will find the ECNZ track (firebreak) which runs northwards. The firebreak runs all the way along the Eastern Hills of the Hutt Valley with numerous tracks that come off the main ridge down to both Lower Hutt and Wainuiomata. This brochure is great to get an idea of the track system.
On our first walk Master 4 brought his balance bike and Miss 2 walked with the odd piggy back ride. We took around 1.5 hours (we walked 45min up and then returned). The kids loved the views - but the vegetation was nothing to rave about as it's mainly gorse and scrub. It's exposed up on the ridgeline so bring appropriate clothing.
We've been back a number of times, starting at the top of Wanuiomata hill and heading north. Exploring the different tracks that take you to the top of the various fire breaks and admiring the views. We've noticed that over the years the gorse is reducing as our native bush is starting to regenerate. Fingers crossed that in the next 10-20 years our hills will be covered in our native trees again.
Haha - still getting the odd piggy back ride. When we got home she had a raging fever so the piggy back was actually well deserved.
Age of Kids: Starting from age 2 & 4
Walking Time: 1.5 hours
Length: The track must go for 20km+ (but we only did a little bit - maybe 4 km)
Difficulty: While most of the track was easy there are parts that are steep and can get slippery.
Buggy Friendly: Not really, possible but the surface is pretty uneven and there's lots of ups and downs.
Amenities: There are no amenities
Dogs: Yes, it's a great walk for the dogs off leash! :)
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