Alas, there are no pictures to go with this, because I stepped off the train at Muri station, the start of this section of Te Araroa, only to discover that the battery in my camera was dead.
I’ve recently moved to Wellington, and will be here for the next few months at least, so decided – as it was a nice day – to go for a walk. I was grateful to see that, after a short time, I was to veer away from the horrible State Highway 1 (not particularly nice for walking) and onto Araharakeke (the Flax Pathway, used as a combined walk and cycle way). This, admittedly, goes alongside the motorway but although you can still hear it, the ugly thing is out of sight. I’m guessing that Araharakeke is relatively new, because the flax bushes planted along it were still quite small. There was more gorse and blackberry around than anything else! (Not that I minded the blackberry, as the fruits were out and ripe so of course I stuffed myself.) Still, it’s obvious that a lot of effort has gone into it and a few years from now I’m sure the flax will look lovely.
After a while I left the Flax Pathway to do a bit of cross country over the hills, along the Taua Tapu track. Cutting through what is now farmland, Taua Tapu follows an old Maori route over the hills down into Plimmerton. There were amazing views from the top, where I suddenly realised that I had a spare camera battery on me! Great excitement, until I discovered it too was flat. (They’re both charging now.) I went down over 300 steps, down a delightful little bush reserve track into the seaside village of Plimmerton, and walked along the coast to Paramata.
Now technically this section of Te Araroa finishes a bit further on at Porirua, but a sudden, nasty southerly (Wellington at work) descended, just as my flatmate rang and asked if I wanted to go to the movies. It was no contest – I skittered out of the rain to the train station, and zipped my way back into the city. Can finish it off later.
ojcade.com 