Hawkins Hill

Last weekend was the Northern Walkway. This weekend just finished was the much easier trek to Hawkins Hill. I’m hoping to do most of the major walkways around Wellington while we have summer.

Hawkins Hill is meant to be the tallest peak in Wellington. But as you start at the Wind Turbine, it is an easy six km return walk.

Sadly it was not as hot and sunny as the prior weekend. In fact we were literally in the fog and couldn’t see more than a few metres at times, and the wind at one stage almost blew me off the cliff. However it did get better on the return trip and the five humans and two dogs did enjoy it.

Around 500 metres before the end of the road is the building known as “The Castle”. It is a private residence, but I think was once intended as a conference venue. I actually think it would be a great conference retreat venue. I looked the GV up online and it is only $1.05 million for the castle and 4,000 sq metres of land. I think the owners must have got sick of people treating it as a tourist spot as it is surrounded by a barbed wire fence and the grounds are meant to have guard dogs.

This is the Hawkins Hill radar station. You scan see how foggy it was. This is the radar for Wellington Airport.

If the day had been sunny, then this would be a glorious photo of Wellington from the peak of Hawkins Hill. You’ll just have to imagine the view until I return on a finer day. Next time I’ll do the route which heads down to Red Rocks rather than the return route to the wind turbine.

On the way back the fog lifted. Much nicer.

For around a km of the walk we are next to the barrier fence for Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

The view from close to the wind turbine.

And the wind turbine itself. The blades were not moving because ironically it was too windy!

Next weekend is the City to Sea walk – a six hour one from Bolton Street Cemetary to Island Bay!