Sunday, 9 December 2018
Location: The Te Marua, north of Upper Hutt, turn off RD2 onto Maymorne Road. Plateau Road is on the left halfway through the village. The signage is pretty good, so just follow it until you hit one of the several carparks.
Tunnel gully is one of those fantastic parks to take the family and dogs where, depending on how you feel, you can just keeping wandering down different tracks until you've had your fill.
We tend to start with Tane's Loop which is in the middle of the park, it takes about an hour to get around through the bush track and there is a waterfall and a couple of impressive tree's to admire as you go. We try to include the tunnel for the kids towards the end which is always a crowd favourite. It's from this park you have access to Mt Climie if you're felling up to it. Although Mt Climie is a bit of a slog - but the view is worth it.
There is a a large BBQ area if you want to make a day of it, as well as a couple of swimming holes in the stream if you are inclined (though we haven't gone looking for one of these yet).
Tunnel gully map: Tunnel-Gully-map.pdf (gw.govt.nz)
Age of Kids: Miss 6 and Master 9
Walking Time: Tane's loop is about an hour but you can easily lose half a day here just wandering up and down tracks.
Length: Tane's loop is 2.3km
Difficulty: Easy.
Buggy Friendly: Yes (its half bush track so there will be a couple of tricky bits)
Amenities: Yes there are toilets and a BBQ area.
Dogs: Yes, dogs are fine, there are some on lead areas to be aware of.
Cellphone Reception: Yes
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