Saturday, 14 November 2020
Location: near the intersection of Oriental Parade and Carlton Gore Road, Wellington City (there is a big signpost)
The Southern Walkway has to be one of the most iconic Wellington City walks. It's a one way walk between Oriental Bay and Island Bay which follows the Town Belt. It offers beautiful views, lots of interesting things to explore and multiple playgrounds for the kids (definitely check out this brochure before you go).
We started off in Oriental Bay (just before the Roseneath turnoff) and just kept following the pink bollards, spotting them was the responsibility of the kiddos. It's a stiff climb to the top of Mt Victoria, we stopped a lot and admired the views.
Once you're at the top that's the big climb over - yay! The kids loved the play equipment in Mt Victoria and the Playground in Melrose Park (which is where we stopped for lunch). There's another little climb at the end but our lot were well rested after a long lunch/play that we barely noticed.
We also knew we were heading to the amazing Island Bay playground for ice creams and a double decker bus trip back into town so everyone was on double speed. You could catch another bus from Wellington CBD around to Oriental Bay - but we were well rested by then so meandered along the waterfront back to our car (stopping at the playground for a while and playing at the beach).
Definitely one of the top walks in Wellington - we'd highly recommend it.
Age of Kids: 5yr and 8yr
Walking Time: 4-5 hours
Length: 10.7km
Difficulty: Medium
Wet Feet: No
Amenities: There aren't any toilets on this trail but you're never too far from a suburb where you can find a toilet. The brochure has a list of these. You can also bail at any time as you're right in the middle of the city.
Dogs: Yes (on lead only)
Cellphone Reception: Yes
Be Aware: It is a long walk so you need to make sure you bring lots of food and drink. We were also surprised there weren't any toilets on the actual track.
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