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To Truscott St, Johnsonville

Local Walking Tracks April 2018

Bell’s Track

KorimakoTrack

Orleans Makererua Reserve

Chelmsford Park

Ngaio Playcentre

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T o Sk ylin e W al kw

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To S ky lin e

W Crofton alkw a Downs School y

Built-up land

Open private land

Chelmsford Park, Ngaio

Churchill Drive Shopping Northern Walkway Centre

Cataract

Ngaio Residents Association 6th edition. 6th Association Residents Downs Crofton Ngaio

PREPARED BY PREPARED

with the landowners approval. approval. landowners the with

Bell’s Track. The track was completed by volunteers in 2016 2016 in volunteers by completed was track The Track. Bell’s

bank robbery getaway car was set alight. set was car getaway robbery bank track connects with Downing Street. Street. Downing with connects track

round trip taking in the Crow’s Nest, the Skyline Walkway and and Walkway Skyline the Nest, Crow’s the in taking trip round

scare of the 1880s. In 2002 the site was damaged when a a when damaged was site the 2002 In 1880s. the of scare there you can follow a track to the Skyline Walkway. A side side A Walkway. Skyline the to track a follow can you there

the end of Huntleigh Park Way. It makes readily accessible a a accessible readily makes It Way. Park Huntleigh of end the

and used for storing explosives during the Russian invasion invasion Russian the during explosives storing for used and stream Road up towards the Crofton Downs substation. From From substation. Downs Crofton the towards up Road stream

access points are off Patna Street and via a paper road at at road paper a via and Street Patna off are points access

remains of an historic powder magazine built in 1879-80 1879-80 in built magazine powder historic an of remains - Silver from track biking and walking a is Track Silversky The

of Bell’s Track with the bottom of the Crow’s Nest Track. Other Other Track. Nest Crow’s the of bottom the with Track Bell’s of

Silversky Track Silversky A major point of interest towards the end of the track is the the is track the of end the towards interest of point major A

This passes through mainly private land and links the bottom bottom the links and land private mainly through passes This

Korimako Track Korimako

Stream) continues to the two lower Ngaio Gorge Road exits. Road Gorge Ngaio lower two the to continues Stream)

the Skyline Walkway. Walkway. Skyline the

hand track near the river (now called the Kaiwharawhara the called (now river the near track hand

through private land, then the Outer Greenbelt to join with with join to Greenbelt Outer the then land, private through

beehives and through a horse paddock on the way. the on paddock horse a through and beehives

to the steep slope. Downhill from the intersection, the left left the intersection, the from Downhill slope. steep the to

This begins from the top of Huntleigh Park and passes passes and Park Huntleigh of top the from begins This

a wide track provides access to the Skyline Walkway, passing passing Walkway, Skyline the to access provides track wide a

to Ngaio Gorge Road. Walking this track requires care due due care requires track this Walking Road. Gorge Ngaio to

Crows Nest Track Nest Crows

Starting from Chartwell Drive (just above John Witton Drive) Drive) Witton John above (just Drive Chartwell from Starting From the junction another track runs around the steep hillside hillside steep the around runs track another junction the From

Chartwell Reserve Chartwell

runs to Heke Street emerging next to 41 Heke Street. Heke 41 to next emerging Street Heke to runs totara.

and between 45 and 47 Thatcher Crescent. A side track track side A Crescent. Thatcher 47 and 45 between and vantage point for Guy Fawkes night. Fawkes Guy for point vantage trees nearby especially two mature specimens of miro and and miro of specimens mature two especially nearby trees

and Ngaio. Access is from the end of Collingwood Street Street Collingwood of end the from is Access Ngaio. and and steep sides. At the junction there are several notable notable several are there junction the At sides. steep and spectacular views of the city, harbour and Ngaio itself. Great Great itself. Ngaio and harbour city, the of views spectacular

A pleasant track through this reserve links Crofton Downs Downs Crofton links reserve this through track pleasant A stream from a section known as The Gorge from its narrowness narrowness its from Gorge The as known section a from stream Bridle Track. The highest point, at the water tanks, provides provides tanks, water the at point, highest The Track. Bridle

Heke Street Reserve Street Heke area’s finest scenic features. This is the emergence of the the of emergence the is This features. scenic finest area’s convenient segment of a circular walk in association with the the with association in walk circular a of segment convenient

of the track, a zigzag track provides access to one of the the of one to access provides track zigzag a track, the of This track passes through regenerating bush and provides a a provides and bush regenerating through passes track This

Just before the junction with the Wadestown-Trelissick section section Wadestown-Trelissick the with junction the before Just Road near the entrance to the Harbour Lights subdivision. subdivision. Lights Harbour the to entrance the near Road exercise area. exercise

Access is from alongside 14 Punjab Street or from Old Porirua Old from or Street Punjab 14 alongside from is Access a children’s playground and a designated off-the-lead dog dog off-the-lead designated a and playground children’s a

Piwakawaka Track (Odell Reserve) (Odell Track Piwakawaka

Wadestown. Wadestown. shops. There is a stream, an old totara, sculpture, seating, seating, sculpture, totara, old an stream, a is There shops.

with tracks from Trelissick Crescent and Hanover Street, Street, Hanover and Crescent Trelissick from tracks with This grassed and generally flat park is behind the Ngaio Ngaio the behind is park flat generally and grassed This

The track follows the Korimako Stream until it intersects intersects it until Stream Korimako the follows track The Cummings Park Cummings ranges. The walkway is open to walkers and mountain bikers. mountain and walkers to open is walkway The ranges.

Wellington city and harbour and the Tararua and Orongorongo Orongorongo and Tararua the and harbour and city

Wellington-Manawatu Railway Line was built in the 1880s. 1880s. the in built was Line Railway Wellington-Manawatu

views of the Kaikoura ranges, the Marlborough Sounds, Sounds, Marlborough the ranges, Kaikoura the of views

care is needed in several areas that are quite steep. quite are that areas several in needed is care

remains of a rare old drystone wall constructed when the the when constructed wall drystone old rare a of remains

hours at an easy pace. On a clear day there are spectacular spectacular are there day clear a On pace. easy an at hours

Track. Tracks are marked with small coloured posts. Some Some posts. coloured small with marked are Tracks Track.

Downs emerges from a culvert. Adjacent to this are the the are this to Adjacent culvert. a from emerges Downs

Mt Kaukau and Crofton Downs. It is 4km long and takes two two takes and long 4km is It Downs. Crofton and Kaukau Mt

Park Way and from the Skyline Walkway via the Crow’s Nest Nest Crow’s the via Walkway Skyline the from and Way Park

A few metres further on, the Silverstream from Crofton Crofton from Silverstream the on, further metres few A

Part of this walkway runs north-south along the ridge between between ridge the along north-south runs walkway this of Part behind the Playcentre in Silverstream Road, from Huntleigh Huntleigh from Road, Silverstream in Playcentre the behind

Skyline Walkway Skyline

administered by the Girl Guides Association. Access is from from is Access Association. Guides Girl the by administered

of a nineteenth century logging track. logging century nineteenth a of

This lesser known area is a WCC reserve. Adjoining bush is is bush Adjoining reserve. WCC a is area known lesser This

is carved out of solid rock. This is believed to be the remains remains the be to believed is This rock. solid of out carved is

Huntleigh Park Reserve Park Huntleigh

looks after the area. the after looks seats. Not far from the Waikowhai Street entrance the track track the entrance Street Waikowhai the from far Not seats.

that are survivors from the original bush. A local care group group care local A bush. original the from survivors are that Wightwick’s Field, a flat grassed area with a picnic table and and table picnic a with area grassed flat a Field, Wightwick’s

Wadestown. Wadestown. fine specimens of native trees (pukatea, kahikatea and titoki) titoki) and kahikatea (pukatea, trees native of specimens fine between Ngaio and Crofton Downs) the track descends to to descends track the Downs) Crofton and Ngaio between

from the Awarua Street Entrance to Cummings Park and on to to on and Park Cummings to Entrance Street Awarua the from at the Orleans end. The reserve is notable for a number of of number a for notable is reserve The end. Orleans the at From the Waikowhai Street entrance (near the railway overbridge overbridge railway the (near entrance Street Waikowhai the From

Track into Ngaio. It proceeds along the Northern Walkway Walkway Northern the along proceeds It Ngaio. into Track (off Motueka Street). There is a gently sloped grassed area area grassed sloped gently a is There Street). Motueka (off

Mt Kaukau it follows the Skyline Walkway and then Bell’s Bell’s then and Walkway Skyline the follows it Kaukau Mt from Makererua Street (off Heke Street) to Orleans Street Street Orleans to Street) Heke (off Street Makererua from Trelissick Crescent, Waikowhai Street and Hanover Street. Hanover and Street Waikowhai Crescent, Trelissick

Te Araroa stretches 3,000km from Cape Reinga to Bluff. From From Bluff. to Reinga Cape from 3,000km stretches Araroa Te This small reserve has an interesting 10 minute track running running track minute 10 interesting an has reserve small This

Ngaio Gorge / Kaiwharawhara Road, Ngaio Gorge Road, Road, Gorge Ngaio Road, Kaiwharawhara / Gorge Ngaio

Te Araroa Trail Araroa Te Orleans Makererua Reserve (Pukatea Track) (Pukatea Reserve Makererua Orleans

There are five main entrances to Trelissick Park: Trelissick to entrances main five are There

the top of Mt Kaukau. Mt of top the restoring the vegetation. the restoring number of heritage trees. heritage of number

and Simla Crescent to Park where it ascends to to ascends it where Park Khandallah to Crescent Simla and Wellington and the South Island. A dedicated care group is is group care dedicated A Island. South the and Wellington for over 20 years, the park has regenerating bush and a a and bush regenerating has park the years, 20 over for

Awarua Street the walkway goes along Khandallah Road Road Khandallah along goes walkway the Street Awarua railway station. From the top there are fantastic views over over views fantastic are there top the From station. railway volunteers in co-operation with the Council City Wellington the with co-operation in volunteers

Street a short road walk leads to Cummings Park. From From Park. Cummings to leads walk road short a Street provided access between farms in Ohariu Valley and Ngaio Ngaio and Valley Ohariu in farms between access provided network of walking tracks. Cared for by a dedicated group of of group dedicated a by for Cared tracks. walking of network

Street is part of the Northern Walkway. From Waikowhai Waikowhai From Walkway. Northern the of part is Street and joins a farm track up to a saddle on the ridge. It originally originally It ridge. the on saddle a to up track farm a joins and from the lower Ngaio Gorge to Waikowhai Street with an extensive extensive an with Street Waikowhai to Gorge Ngaio lower the from

The track in Trelissick Park from Hanover Street to Waikowhai Waikowhai to Street Hanover from Park Trelissick in track The This re-established route starts at the top of Awarua Street Street Awarua of top the at starts route re-established This extending landscape rugged of area large a covers park The

Northern Walkway Northern Bell’s Track Bell’s Park Trelissick

Early Maori Otari - Wilton’s Bush This sanctuary in nearby Wilton is devoted to indigenous New Kaiwharawhara was a Te Atiawa Pa at the mouth of the Kai- Zealand plants. It has a range of tracks through forest, gardens, wharawhara Stream. There were links to the Ohariu and Makara open spaces and picnic areas. This is one of the finest show- Pas via various tracks that passed near Otari. There was also a cases of native flora in the country and is a national treasure. track to the north following the route of the present Bridle Track Access points close to Ngaio and Crofton Downs are from from Winchester Street to Khandallah. The Kaiwharawhara Pa had gardens in the present Kenya Street - Trelissick Crescent Churchill Drive, John Witton Drive and the main entrance on area and bird snaring was done on the slopes of Mt Kaukau. Wilton Road. It is within walking distance of both suburbs. (Kaukau is a corruption of kaka, the native parrot). Suburban Walkways Botany Ngaio and Crofton Downs have a large number of zigzag walkways and steps between streets. These provide easier Local Walking Tracks Pre-European vegetation was generally a mixed broadleaf access for pedestrians to shops and transport. These are Ngaio and Crofton Downs, two of Wellington’s northern suburbs, have - podocarp forest. There were extensive stands of tawa and shown on the map as dotted lines linking streets. They many accessible bush reserves and walking tracks running from the lower kohekohe with some emerging podocarps such as matai, totara complement the track system and provide interesting walks Ngaio Gorge to the Skyline walkway. There are short tracks for family and kahikatea in association with a rich assortment of broadleaf and shortcuts through the suburbs. forays or longer extended walks for fitness and magnificent views. trees. Vast quantities of timber and firewood were taken from the area and there were extensive bush workings in Awarua Street providing logs for milling at a site which is now the Ngaio Tennis Club courts. After the area was logged, the land was progres- sively cleared for dairy farming. Sheep and cattle are still grazed on the higher slopes where some areas of bush are regenerating under a protective canopy of gorse. In other cut over areas, such as the Ngaio Gorge, the bush is regenerating with tawa, mahoe, titoki, karaka and rewarewa. www.ngaio.org.nz Geology Dog Exercise Areas Ngaio rocks are raised sedimentary sandstone (greywacke) and There are five off-the-leash dog exercise areas in Ngaio and black mudstone (argillite). Subsidiary earthquake fault lines have Crofton Downs: the whole of Trelissick Park, Chelmsford Park allowed streams to erode valleys, such as the Ngaio Gorge, or off Lower Chelmsford Street, Cummings Park, Silverstream have left their mark elsewhere on the land. A good example of this Road Reserve and Odell’s Reserve. is the fault line that crosses the upper part of Bells Track to create a shallow valley behind The Crow’s Nest and small notches in the southern spurs between the track and Mt Kaukau. A flat remnant Safety of the original land surface or peneplain still remains on Mt Kaukau Stout shoes or boots should be worn and a waterproof and has given its name to the extensive flat surface that originally jacket and warm clothing carried in case of a change in the existed over much of the Wellington area. More recently (10-20,000 weather. Tell someone your plans. These precautions are years ago) freeze/thaw action during an Ice Age produced a essential if you plan to walk on the exposed skyline ridges. water-logged mantle of mud and rock fragments that flowed down Adventure Smart has outdoor safety information the hillsides. This debris (and the underlying bedrocks) can be www.adventuresmart.org.nz seen in many Ngaio road cuttings. How to Get There Local train stations on the Johnsonville Line are Crofton More Information Downs, Ngaio and Awarua Street. Several bus routes also connect Wellington CBD and Ngaio. Metlink has both train http://wellington.govt.nz Cummings Park Library, Ngaio and bus timetables: www.metlink.org.nz www.teararoa.org.nz Onslow Historical Society 86 Khandallah Road phone 0800 801 700 www.tracks.org.nz Open 1- 4pm Sunday

www.ngaio.org.nz