This 22km section between Seaview and Pencarrow can easily be shortened to finish at Days Bay for a return trip to Wellington on the ferry, or at Eastbourne. A highlight is the 4km long beautiful Tupua Horo Nuku shared bi-directional path that was opened in 2026 and which runs from Seaview to Days Bay. The route from Eastbourne to the Pencarrow Lighthouse is a 14km gravel path along the wild coast line, taking you to the entrance of the Wellington Harbour.
Embedded Files
The Great Harbour Way Trust is a finalist for the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards for Wellington City this year.
Map, Route GPX file, and 3D flyover simulation video
Map, Route GPX file, and 3D flyover simulation video
Below you'll find a route map, a downloadable GPX file compatible with any walking or cycling navigation app, and a 3D flyover simulation video of the route.
3D flyover simulation with photos of the Seaview-Pencarrow route
Route Guide
Route Guide
Seaview
Seaview
The route through Seaview starts at the Waione Bridge and follows a shared bi-directional path to the head of the Hutt river from where it continues towards the Seaview Marina. Just before the Marine businesses, cyclists will need to cross the road and follow it to the entrance of the Marina (look out for the wayfinding signs). Follow the signs for the direction to Eastbourne. Just past the boat launch ramp there is a narrow path along the fuel pipelines; follow this to get to the start of the Tupua Horo Nuku path.
The start of the Seaview route
Turn right here into the Seaview Marina
The start of the path along the fuel pipelines by the Marina boatramp
Tupua Horo Nuku
Tupua Horo Nuku
The 4.4km long Tupua Horo Nuku shared bi-directional path was opened in 2026 and was build together with a new seawall to ensure better resiliency along Marine Drive; a critical connection between Eastbourne and the Hutt. The name of the path evokes the narrative of the Tupua (spiritual phenomena) called Ngake, one of the two creators of Wellington Harbour in traditional Māori narrative. The name was gifted to the project by Te Atiawa Taranaki Whānui, as part of the partnership between iwi and Hutt City Council. The name Tupua Horo Nuku roughly translates to "the supernatural being that shapes and shifts the land". The path winds its way along the following beautiful bays.
Sorrento Bay at Point Howard is the first bay along the path and is a popular swimming beach. The Maori name for this point was Ngaumatau ("bite the fish hook"), and was renamed after Philip Howard, a member of parliament in the 1840s. Until the 1855 earthquake, the point was passable only at low tide, and travellers had to make a lengthy diversion over the summit. The earthquake raised a ledge, as it did around the entire harbour fringe, making travelling to, and settling the eastern bays a great deal easier.
Lowry Bay is named after Richard Lowry; a ship mate on the Tory - an early migrant ship. The Maori name for the bay was Whiorau (‘the place of many blue ducks’), and indeed this area was once a swamp. In the 1840s, though, in a not-unusual fashion, early European settlers drained the swamp, and set to with a box of matches, clearing much of the bush for pasture in a matter of a few years. The 1.5-metre uplift resulting from the 1855 earthquake further altered the landscape, and allowed the sub-dividers of the early 1900s to capitalise. Lowry Bay are popular swimming beaches along the path. The Lowry Bay boatramp by the Whiorau Reserve is a good spot for fishing.
York Bay was first settled by two Yorkshire brothers who tried their hand at dairy farming. One of them, Frederick Crowther, was reputed to operate a whisky still, the produce of which he shipped across to Wellington: ‘striding up from the shore with a can in each arm – one containing milk, the other whisky’. Neither venture could have been particularly profitable, as the brothers soon left the bay. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that the bay was sub-divided by land agents and sold off in 72 lots.
Mahina Bay known until the early 1990s as Portuguese Joe’s Bay, supposedly named after Joseph Silver who shipped firewood from here to Wellington in the mid 1800s. It remained largely unsettled until well into the twentieth century.
Sunshine Bay is where the Tupua Horo Nuku path currently finishes before it picks up again after Days Bay.
Sorrento Bay. A popular swimming area in the summer.
An iconic boat shed at York Bay.
Tupua Horo Nuku finishes at Sunshine Bay
Oruamotoro / Days Bay
Oruamotoro / Days Bay
This beautiful bay is the heart of Eastbourne and the destination of the cross-harbour East by West Ferry. It makes a delightful stop, with good swimming, excellent cafes, and a pier perfect for leaping off. Williams Park and pavilion across the road has ice cream, tearoom treats and cafe-style dining. The leisurely atmosphere of Days Bay harks back to the days when Eastbourne was known as ‘Wellington’s playground’ – a place for picnics and holidays. Starting in the 1850s, thousands flocked here for a weekend or the whole summer, as cross-harbour steamers and ferries plied the route with vigour. At the turn of the nineteenth century, famous Wellington writer Katherine Mansfield spent many of her childhood summers at the bay. More than 20 years later, suffering from tuberculosis in Europe, Mansfield revisited these carefree days in her classic story, ‘At the Bay’.
The limited space between the shoreline and the road means that Tupua Horo Nuku has not be extended as a continuous shared bi-directional path along Days Bay. In time this may be resolved but in the meantime walkers and in particular cyclists need to follow whatever tactical path options are provided at Days Bay. Slow down and take care of other traffic.
Walkers and cyclists have the option to finish their journey along the Great Harbour Way at Days Bay and take the East by West Ferry back to Wellington. For cyclists who want to continue on, you will need to use the road till you get to end of the car parks on the north side of the Days Bay wharf, where the sea-side Tupua Horo Nuku path picks up again.
Welcome to Days Bay, a very popular swimming spot
Cyclists and others waiting for the ferry to Wellington
The Tupua Horo Nuku path picks up again here past the car parks
Eastbourne
Eastbourne
From Days Bay it is short distance along the Mā-koromiko path; the last section of the Tupua Horo Nuku path. Eastbourne village is a wonderful place to visit with its galleries, cafes, and pub. And there is the popular Rona Bay Wharf with next to it Bishop Park, which is a great place for a picnic and has a wonderful playground and public swimming pool that is open during the summer months. From Eastbourne you can do a moderate hike up the hill to visit the beautiful Butterfly Creek. Allow 1.5 hours for this 4km return trip.
From the Rona Bay Wharf follow the Marine Parade. By the Eastbourne Community Hall you will cross Shortt Recreation Ground. Cyclists need to give priority to walkers as this is officially a walking path through the grounds. You will pick up the Marine Parade again after the Recreation Ground, and carry on to the car-free Promenade, which ends by the Muritai Road. Cyclists can use the path with care, or otherwise carry on along the road.
Halfway along Muritai Road is the Wahini Memorial Park, in memory of the 53 people who lost their lives when during a verocious tropical cyclone on 1968 the interisland ferry Wahini struck Barrett Reef and sunk. A memorial plague can be found in the park near a propeller salvaged from the Wahini ferry.
The Road finishes at Burdan's Gate in Korohiwa Bay. Wildfinder Pencarrow hire out bikes and e-bikes here and provide a bike repair service. An e-bike is definitely a good option to do the trip to the Pencarrow lighthouse on a very windy day!
The lovely Eastbourne Village
HW Shortt Recreation Ground
The Eastbourne Promenade
Burdan's Gate to Pencarrow Lighthouse
Burdan's Gate to Pencarrow Lighthouse
This is a 10 kilometer return trip along a gravel road that takes about 3-4 hours to walk, and 1.5-2.5 hours to bike. The road is closed to vehicles except for the occassional authorised vehicle. The coast along here is popular with divers, and also with cyclists doing the Remutaka Cycle Trail. There is lots to explore along the way and wonderful rock formations to see along the shore.
The public road finishes at the Parangarahu Lakes. Past here permission is required as you will be crossing private land. You must contact the East Harbour Regional Park Ranger via Greater Wellington Regional Council at least one week prior to your trip to secure passage.
You can however walk or cycle on the Pencarrow Lighthouse. You will first go past the Parangarahu Lakes. The Taranaki Whānuiare working in partnership with Greater Wellington to co-manage the Parangarahu Lakes area, which is an important cultural, ecological and historical site, and to ensure the restoration of tuna (eels) and native fishery of the Lakes, and the flourishing of the wetland-lake ecosystems.
Past the lakes it becomes a 40 minute climb climb up to the lighthouse, rewarded with fantastic views over to Mt Tapuaenuku in the South Island and across the entrance of the harbour and the harbour itself. Pencarrow Lighthouse was New Zealand’s first permanent lighthouse, run by New Zealand’s only female lighthouse keeper, Mary Jane Bennett.
Before starting your return journey, it is well worth carrying on to the Bluff Point Lookout from which you have more fantastic views over to Baring Head and the Parangarahu Lakes and Lake Kohangatera.
View towards the Pencarrow Lighthouse
View from the Lighthouse
View of Parangarahu Lakes from Bluff Point Lookout
A final view of Pencarrow Lighthouse before the return journey
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