Our inspiration for the Great Harbour Way / Te Aranui o Pōneke

The Vision

Wellington’s harbour – Te Whanganui-a-Tara, The Great Harbour of Tara – is one of the world’s most beautiful. Its clear waters are ringed by layers of grey-green hills. Its surroundings range from the soaring office towers of the city to the wild, shipwreck shores of Fitzroy Bay. The harbour teems with wildlife, from the seal colonies of Red Rocks, to the blue penguins which seek sanctuary at many places along the coastline, and the dolphins and orcas which regularly visit its waters.

Great Harbour Way, once completed, will provide a continuous, safe, signposted 67-kilometre route for walkers and cyclists around the entire perimeter of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, from Fitzroy Bay in the east to Sinclair Head in the west.

What it offers will be unique – the opportunity to safely walk or cycle the entire coastline of a major city harbour, continually touching the water’s edge. You will pass wild stretches of coast, rocky headlands and sandy beaches, as well as parks, marinas, museums, cafes, theatres, charming seaside suburbs, and the capital’s vibrant business and shopping centre.

The Goals

• Provide a safe continuous walking and cycling route for both transport and recreation.

• Be predominantly designed to accommodate a continuous 2-way path.

• Provide a safe cycling commuter route between the communities along the route.

• Be located immediately beside the harbour edge as far as is practicable.

• Be planned and designed in such away to avoid adverse effects on environmentally sensitive areas.

• Highlight Maori cultural history and values and other historical values; act as a catalyst for new ancillary or development opportunities within the corridor of land it traverses;

• Enhance knowledge and awareness of the Wellington Harbour environment through interpretation, storytelling and art.

• Become a nationally recognised cycleway/walkway, and a key part of the National Cycleway.