What do you get when you add the following Boulder Hill,Duck Hill,Dress Circle and Backed Beans Bend. With another 8 interesting names these add up to The Puke Ariki/Haywards Korokoro Traverse.(The Place of Leaders) It is a stunning walk that crosses the Belmont Regional Park in a almost a North/South line.
It runs from the Dry Creek entrance (near Manor Park) all the way to Cornish Street in Petone.
The views are absolutely breath taking and are well worth the climb of approx 200m from the Dry Creek car park. Walking through low scrub for the 1st part of the climb you come out to a grassy area where you get to see Boulder Hill and the exposed hill for the 1st time.
Each turn of the track gives you different views of Wellington and the Hutt Valley and with a continued climb you then cross over a fence and then you are on Boulder Hill surrounded by the boulders that gives it its name. Hang onto your hat here as if Wellington is blowing a gale this the place that you will experience the full effect of it.
The views here give you a unbridled 360 views from The Hutt Valley to Wellington and its harbour and The East Coast with the towns of Porirua and Plimmerton.
From here if you look south you get to see the first of the 62 concrete explosives magazine buildings. These were constructed for the WW11 Pacific Campaign.It is said that from the air the buildings look like chicken sheds.
But (there as to be a but) its a long steep run down from Boulder Hill before you pick up a good gravel road called the Belmont Road. The road winds up and pass these building of which many are on private property but there are some that you can access and explore.
The road then takes you pass a gas station and continues the winding its way around until you come across some pine trees and on the left a radio mast.
From here you climb over the fence and cross the Airstrip. The track from here goes round or cross such places as Round Knob or the Dress Circle giving the continued views of the areas either side. The track at time follows the ridge line with not much room for error.
A while later you will see the Belmont Trig which at just over 400m is the highest point of the walk. Savour the views as there is nothing like it.
There are a number of options from here but if intending to complete the whole walk then looking towards Wellington there is a track which is steep in places called the Belmont Trig South. This track heads down until it meets a strangle named track called Baked Beans Bend. ( So names after when a large tin of baked beans that had a group of Scouts had exploded.)
This track follows a stream and it does involve at least 6 water crossing until you meet the track junction with Cornish Street track (right) or the Korokoro Dam track (left).
The Cornish Street track follows the stream wall the way to Cornish Street,Petone and will take around a hour.
If you are feeling fit and have the time take the track to the left and after about 20/30 minutes you will arrive at the Korokoro Dam.
The site of the dam was chosen in 1902 by The Petone Borough Council with completion in 1903. At the time the water was used by the Wollen Company. As part of the usage of the water a Small dam was built 3km from the main dam as a storage point for the mill.
The Dam was New Zealand gravity dam. It is 37metres long and is 8 metres at its highest point. In 1962 the dam stopped being used.
All along the track you will see evidence old pipe’s either appearing in the track or in the river.
You can either leave the park at the dam or head down to Cornish Street where you can access either the rail system and buses (Petone.) via Pito-one road to the footbridge to the rail station.
Brief Information:
The park covers 3500 Hectares and includes 1200 Hectares of Waitangirua Farm. It is located between Petone in the south and Manor Park to the north, which is just north of Wellington.
To the east of the park is the Hutt Valley and to the west is Porirua and the coast.
The park was opened in 1989.
There are a number of tracks that give access to the park so it can be explored in stages. The Traverse is 24km long and is a full days walk. Time is all dependant on level of fitness.
Important Information:
Ensure that you are prepared. Take plenty of water and food. Ensure that you take clothing for all weather conditions.
Let someone know where you are going and what time you are expecting to return.
Take a phone (fully charged). Most areas you will get coverage but there are some blind spots.
Getting there: Train to Manor Park then a 10 minute walk to the Dry Creek Entrance. Then at the Cornish Street entrance it is a short walk to Petone Rail Station via Pito-one road to the footbridge to the rail station.
Belmont Park Map Includes all the tracks and additional information. A copy can be picked up from
tourist information centre in Wellington.
Tracks NZ A very good site for all the tracks and maps and a break down of useful information.
Metlink Timetables Train and bus timetables
james/wildbaynz/windyhillflyingclub
WildBay 