One of my favourite 2-3 hour walks in Wellington, the Eastern Walkway offers superb views and a decent workout as it heads around the mouth of Wellington Harbour along the coast of the Miramar Peninsula.
The official Eastern Walkway starts at Tarakena Bay and finishes at the Pass of Breda, but I always start from Churchill Park, walk south to the Pass of Breda and then down to Tarakena Bay before returning back. Churchill Park is a shorter drive, there are toilets there, and it adds on an excellent section around Breaker Bay.
Churchill Park is a pleasant spot, with good swimming, and one of at least three Wahine Memorials I’m aware of in Wellington. In 1968 the Wahine Wellington to Christchurch ferry sank at the mouth of Wellington harbour in awful weather conditions, with the death of 53 people.
This is a rather nice part of Seatoun, one of Wellington’s most expensive suburbs.
The track follows the coast up to wonderful views of Breaker Bay below.
This is a great spot for watching the Interislander and Bluebridge ferries that travel between the North and South Island.
The Remutaka Range and twin lighthouses of Pencarrow can be seen on the other side of the harbour.
There are a number of gun emplacements around Point Dorset headland, all heavily tagged.
The track dips down to the road at the Lord of the Rings sounding Pass of Breda. On one walk I could hear the sound of brass music, and spotted someone practising their double tuba on top of the hill!
This is where the official Eastern Walkway starts, with another climb up to big views.
The track alternates between bush and open views as it undulates along the coastline.
The track opens up fully on the stretch toward the Ataturk Memorial, opened in 1990.
It’s not overly obvious but just past the memorial is a track running down to Tarakina Bay, and there are a number of other paths heading back up the hillside, along with a loop track with good views of Wellington Airport.
