Wellington - Ngauranga Walking & Cycling Route — Great Harbour Way

The Wellington Waterfront to Ngauranga is the next section of the Great Harbour Way / Te Aranui o Pōneke.  This 7km walking & cycling route is the only section that does not follow the harbour edge.  Instead it runs along the popular Thorndon Quay and Hutt Road commuter road.    Below you'll find a route map, a downloadable GPX file compatible with any walking or cycling navigation app, a 3D flyover video, and a full description of what to expect along the way.

Average walking time is around 1 hour and 30 minutes.   Average time to bike is 15 to 30 minutes.  

This section starts by the Bluebridge Ferry terminal along the Wellington waterfront.  On the opposite site of the intersection with Waterloo Quay is the Wellington railway station, with the main bus terminal behind that.   You have the option to cross here into Bunny Street to connect up with the bi-directional cycle lane and the footpath along Thorndon Quay, but be mindful as this is a busy area with cars, taxis and pedestrians going in all directions.

We recommend that you cross here to the shared path that runs alongside Waterloo Quay going north.   Keep following this path to the Customhouse building where you need to take the ramp up to the Stadium Link.  From here you will head back in the direction of the railway station and  then take a right to take the stairs or ramp down to Thorndon Quay.  This avoids busy traffic.   Be mindful though that the concourse will be busy when there is an event at the Stadium.     The Stadium is a popular venue for sporting and music events and was opened in 2000.  It is affectionately known as the 'Cake Tin'.

Where you come out on Thorndon Quay, you can see the The Thistle Inn, Wellington’s oldest pub – built in 1840.   Along the Quay, there are wall-to-wall retailers and the odd café.   Opposite the Capital Gateway complex is Pipitea Marae, built in the early 1980s to cater for the growing demand of an urban Maori population in the Wellington region. It’s a place where traditional Maori customs are keenly observed, but where people of all iwi and all races meet.   The land above the marae is where the Pipitea Pa once stood, a site of great significance to the Maori of Wellington. Overlooking the beach, close to fresh water and cultivation supplies, the pa was originally home to the Ngati Mutunga people who journeyed south from Taranaki in 1824. Patukawenga and Te Poki were the leading figures of the Ngati Mutunga at Pipitea when, in 1835, they renounced their rights to the land in favour of Te Atiawa. They then left for the Chatham Islands. The pa occupied about two and a half hectares and was surrounded by extensive cultivation, and in the early 1940s was home to about 80 people. Much of this area was subsequently claimed by settlers by way of the New Zealand Company’s Port Nicholson Purchase.

As you go north, Thorndon Quay connects up to the Hutt Road.   As you travel further along to the Spotlight store opposite of the Ngaio Gorge, you have reached Kaiwharawhara, so-named because of the wealth of wharawhara (Astelia banksii) that grew on the slopes above the stream (which flows still – just past the Spotlight store – although it was once much bigger and heavily forested). The city council’s Project Kaiwharawhara is revegetating this stream and has developed walking tracks for many kilometres right up to Otari-Wilton’s Bush – a possible side trip for walkers.

From here it is a long straight on the shared path along the Hutt Road to Ngauranga, over which the motorway flyover flies.  At the height of the New Zealand Company land purchases (the 1840s), around 50 Maori were living at Ngauranga, and although reluctant to relinquish ownership, by the early 20th century the land had passed out of their hands.  At Ngauranga follow the shared path underneath the motorway flyover.  Be careful of any fast cyclists here!   Carry on to the bridge over the railway line, which is the start of the wonderful Te Ara Tupua shared path and the next Ngaurange - Seaview section of the Great Harbour Way.

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