Newsletter - 28th September 2025
Last week's walks
We managed to accomplish all walks this week. Not a bad effort given the fickle spring weather! Slightly smaller numbers than usual given the journey across the city with the walks located around the suburbs of Berhampore, Brooklyn and Newtown. Russell and Helen do a fantastic job drawing up our walks and it is amazing that they can always find streets we have not previously traversed. There were 26 SSs covering a distance of 5.4km and 20 FFs who walked 7.7km. Thursday evening saw 6 walkers (+Red) walking 6.2km around Churton Park. Clint Davis led the Friday team out from Otari Bush and up and around Te Ahumairangi (Tinakori Hill), down through Wilton and into the Otari bush again for a walk of 12km and an ascent of some 600m.
A reminder: Friday night drinks at the Johnsonville Club from 5.0pm on October 3rd.
Walk details for Wednesday October 1st
This Week’s Walks: It is still school holidays and hopefully there will be no problems travelling down the gorge and out to Melling in Lower Hutt. The availability of parking has been researched, as have the areas of no entry to the river tracks. (See the parking notes below.) So therefore things should go smoothly! The FFs and SSs have walks carried out previously, but there also is an alternative easier walk for the SSs if they choose. The PPs have a new walk.
The walks will start at 9:20am from the designated starting point.
PPs: A 5.40 km loop. A flat walk taking in some of the more upmarket streets of Lower Hutt, a golf course, some of the light industrial streets and then back to the cars. The walk is all on footpaths. The road crossings all have islands so there is generally only one lane of traffic to watch out for at any one time. You can see the walk here.
SSs: (a) A 5.71 km loop taking in streets on the Western Hutt Hills. This walk is the same walk as the last time we walked in this area and it is reasonably hilly. You can see the walk here.
SS: (b). A 5.93 km flat loop walk, similar to the PPs, but delving deeper into the Lower Hutt streets. This walk is flat and is for those who don’t like the idea of the Hutt Hills. You can see the walk here.
FFs: A 6.8 km loop walk in the Western Hutt Hills. You can see the walk on Mapometer here and on Plotaroute here.
Parking: As noted above, the parking has been researched. We believe there is ample parking for all. Get into the middle lane as you approach and head through the Melling Lights, then move into the right turning lane at the second set of traffic lights to turn into Block Road. Turn right into Block Road and there is parking either in the carpark area immediately to the left or keep driving south of the Melling Station parking and there is further parking on Pharazyn Street. Please see map below.
Coffee: We have advised Columbus Coffee at Mitre 10 Mega, Petone, that a number of us will be arriving for a coffee etc.
Happy walking.
Russell Paterson
Walk Schedules: You can look at the walk schedule for October 2025 here.
Reminder: Please ensure that you inform your group’s leader if you leave a walk partway through.
Cancellations: If the walks are cancelled an email will be sent out as early as possible but definitely before 8:00am.
Calendar of Events
CPCW Photos
Wednesday Walkers
Wednesday’s walkers wandered the streets of Berhampore and the surrounding suburbs enjoying the opportunity to gaze at some of Wellington’s older domestic architecture.
Rowena Rowe provided the first two photos of the SSs and Hue Ng captured the FFs in this great shot on the Massey University campus.
Hue provided this excerpt from a Japanese folk song:
“Sakura Sakura
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms
Across the spring sky
Flowers in bloom
Let’s go to see them.”
Thursday Walkers
Six walkers walked 5.5km around Churton Park on an evening described by Christine Binns as mild and not too much wind! Hue Ng provided the photo and commented that Red appeared to be eying the duck defiantly!
Friday Walkers
The challenges of spring weather in Wellington meant that Clint Davis had to change his plans for the Friday walk. A stroll along the Skyline Walkway may have seen walkers blown out to sea! So walkers were treated to the bush and views of Te Ahumairangi and Otari Bush and bits in between. Some decent climbs so Friday’s team had a good work-out.
Photos are from Hue Ng and Bill Gaudie – apologies for the spits of rain on Bill’s photo of the group.
