Queen Elizabeth II Park, Paraparaumu, Kapiti Coast

Walk #173, 18th October 2025

Queen Elizabeth park is on the Kapiiti Coast between Raumati Beach and Paekakariki. We parked at the Wellington Tramways Museum at MacKays crossing and took a historic tram to the start of the walk at Whareroa Beach. It was a different and fun way of starting the walk. The tram runs on the weekend.

The central car park at Whareroa Beach is the start point for two loop tracks, one north to Raumati Beach and the other south to Paekakariki. Both have seaward tracks that follow the dunes. We kept to the inland track which is more sheltered from the westerly wind.

Walk: Kapiti 36

Links

Wellington Tramway Museum

Queen Elizabeth Park

History

The name Paraparaumu is from an early foray of the Musket Wars.
RNZ Nau Mai Town – Paraparaumu

The greater Wellington Regional Council gives the history of Queen Elizabeth Park here:
Queen Elizabeth Park Resource Statement

I have some family links with the area from the 1800’s.
History of the Howell family (my paternal Grandmother’s relatives)

From the 1850s, several Pakeha families came into the Whareroa/Paekakariki area to
farm the land which included areas currently within the Queen Elizabeth Park. From 1860, John Telford established a sheep farm know as ‘Wharemako’ and this extended around and south of current-day Raumati and presumably included the northern part of the park

In August 1879, William Bentinck Howell leased much of this land off Telford for £100 per annum for 10 years. The 1,335-acre run carried 800 sheep. In 1884 Howell agreed to buy another 600 acres or so, on deferred payment, with the result that he then held an approximately 2,000 acre farm that extended all the way down to Whareroa Stream. Howell continued leasing and acquired a right of purchase of the whole farm by the late 1880s. He began draining the swamps in between the sandhills and establishing pasture.

Howell Road, Paraparaumu Beach

Named after the Howell family, early settlers. William Bentinck Howell (named after the ship he was born on the way to NZ) settled in Wharemaku, a homestead next to the Wharemauku stream in 1879. This house was demolished in about 1949. The site is now 41 Alexander Road.
Source: Kapiti Historical Society – Street names and early dwellings Project

*My grandmother’s grandfather and brothers*

Waikanae River Estuary and Beach

Walk #168, 19th May 2025

This is a small estuary, prolific with birds despite the close proximity of housing. The walk goes over a swing bridge and along the banks of the Waikanae River to the Waimanu Lagoons. There we were treated to a special sight, a white heron (kotuku) who lives at the lagoon. The bird is so rare that the Maori have a saying, “He Kotuku rerenga tahi,” “a Kotuku’s flight is seen but once.”

The beach is only a short walk from the lagoon, where we watched the sun set over Kapiti Island, 5 kms offshore.

Walk: Kapiti 33

History

Te Uruhi, a former pa site at Waikanae, was one of three ancient pa sites mentioned in the book ‘THE ART WORKMANSHIP OF THE MAORI RACE IN NEW ZEALAND,’ published in 1896. Elsdon Best wrote, “I have seen the remains of an old pa at Waikanae, called Te Uruhi, the fence of which has been a mile in circumference.”

Unfortunately the site would have been obliterated by developer’s bulldozers.

The Waitaha, first inhabitants

“Archaeological and ethnographical research suggests that Waikanae may have been first inhabited by the Waitaha moa-hunters as early as a thousand years ago.” The Waitaha people were replaced by successive waves of settlement of the Ngāti Apa, Rangitāne and Muaūpoko iwi (tribal groups).

Source: Wikipedia:

Te Rauparaha

In the 1820s the infamous Maori leader of Ngāti Toa, Te Rauparaha, moved into the area and based himself at Kapiti Island.

In this 1840s image of Te Rauparaha, he wears a feather in his hair and a pōhoi (feather-ball earring). Te Rauparaha is famous for the role he played during the musket wars.

Source: Te Ara

In 1824, Waikanae Beach was the embarkation point for a force of 2,000 to 3,000 fighters from coastal iwi, who assembled with the intention of taking Kapiti Island from the Ngāti Toa led by Te Rauparaha. Crossing the strait in a fleet of waka canoes under shelter of darkness, the attackers were met and destroyed as they disembarked at the northern end of Kapiti Island.

…..

Te Āti Awa of Wellington

In the 1820s the Taranaki tribes iwi Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Maru Wharanui began moving to the Kapiti area after being driven south by Waikato tribes in the Maori Musket Wars. The tribes moved back to Taranaki in 1848 but some Atiawa iwi remained in the Kapiti area. Source: Te Āti Awa of Wellington

…..

The Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve

The Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve is a nationally–significant reserve located at the mouth of the Waikanae River. The reserve was established in 1987 to protect the large number of bird species that use the area.

…..

Thomas the goose

Here’s something funny and sweet – a local story about a goose called Thomas who lived at the Waimanu Lagoons from 1970 to 2018.

“Thomas had a relationship with a male black-feathered swan, Henry, for approximately 18 to 24 years until a female swan, Henrietta, joined them. Thomas initially attacked the pair, which included breaking two of the five eggs that Henrietta had laid. But once the remaining eggs had hatched, he became friendly and helped raise them. Henry could not fly because he had an injured wing, so Thomas helped teach the cygnets to fly.

Thomas was left alone when Henry died in 2009 and Henrietta flew away with another swan. Thomas later met a female goose and had his own offspring, for the first time, in 2011. The offspring were then taken by another goose. After going blind and getting attacked by swans, he was moved in 2013 to the Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust in Ohariu, and stayed there until his death in 2018. A plaque was placed at the lagoon to remember him.” Source: Wikipedia

Links

We stopped at the Southward Car Museum on the road to the Waikanae Estuary walk. It’s well worth a visit.

Waikanae Link Track

Kotuku, White heron

White heron making most of Waikanae Beach before departure

Thomas (goose)

Te Ātiawa ki Kāpiti History : The earliest accounts of Te Ātiawa ki Kāpiti go back to the Kāhui Mounga Collective that had spread itself from Taranaki and the Central Plateau region through to Te Ūpoko o te Ika. During this time, further waves of migrations occurred.

Two of these migrations began with the arrival of the following waka to Taranaki; Te Kahutara, Taikōria and Okoki.

The names of these iwi were Te Tini-a-Taitāwaro, Te Tini-a-Pananehu, Tamaki, and Te Tini-o-Pohokura, names after four brothers who led their people to Aotearoa.

Kaitoke Regional Park, Wellington

Walk # 11th April 2017

The Kaitoke Regional Park lies in the foothills of the Tararua Range near Wellington. It’s a catchment area for nearly half of Wellington’s water supply and the surrounding virgin bush is made up of old rata, beech and rimu trees.

Near the carpark a short side path leads to the site of Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings films.

We visited the park in 2017 but only had time to look at the LOTR location. The bush and river setting is so lovely, I can see why it was chosen for the Rivendell setting. It’s a walk we’ll return to.

Nothing remains of Rivendell except this replica arch.

A map shows the location of Frodo’s bedroom and Elrond’s house. The Pakuratahi river flows near the set before joining the Hutt River.

The tree where Legolas posed for publicity photos.

Besides the LOTR location there are a number of short walks. The main walk, a loop along the Hutt River, begins over a swing bridge from the carpark.

Walk: Wellington 9

Pauatahanui Wildlife Reserve

Walk #133, 20th August 2024

This estuary is on the Hutt Road to Wellington via “Haywards.” It’s an important sanctuary for shorebirds including the rare fernbird. The hide we walked to gave a good view of the birds resting on the nearby point.

Walk: Wellington 12

Links

Brochure

DOC: Pāuatahanui Inlet is the largest relatively unmodified estuarine area in the southern North Island. It has viewing hides, tracks, a visitor centre and a picnic area.

Forest & Bird: The restoration started over 40 years ago and has been of such a high standard that it has been recognised by the DOC in the most important way – to have endangered birds released into Pāuatahanui Wildlife Reserve.

Pāuatahanui Wildlife Reserve

Mount Victoria Lookout Walk

Walk #111 15th November 2023

This walk features a Lord of the Rings location, where after leaving the Shire Frodo and Sam hide from the Nazgul under a bank on the road. The tree was artificial and the tree roots were props … so the real spot is a bit anti-climactic, but we took a cringey tourist photo anyway as we are fans of the Lord of the Rings.

Further on in the walk there are all sorts of interesting structures to play on based on native creatures, insects and fish.

When we reached the top of Mount Victoria we found the view was spectacular. We were fortunate the wind had died down so we were able to enjoy being there.

Walk: Wellington 22

Links

The Guide to The Lord of the Rings in Wellington

Zealandia, Wellington

Walk #110 Zealandia, 14th November 2023

Zealandia is an urban sanctuary in the Karori suburb of Wellington, our capital. The bush surrounds a former reservoir. The reserve is home to our rarest birds and Tuatara, a native reptile. Zealandia has been so successful that Kaka, one of our native parrot species, has established itself outside of the pest proof fence. They stopped tagging them when the numbers grew to over 1000.

You can see Tuatara in their natural habitat. A guide gave us a talk on them as we sat and had our lunch. They’re most commonly found at the research area behind the fences.

The entry fee is well worth it. There’s also a cafe.

You can get to the sanctuary from the top of the Cable Car, there’s a free electric shuttle van which travels back and forth.

While we were waiting for the shuttle bus we took a walk in the Botanic Gardens.

Walk #109 Wellington Botanic Gardens, 14th November 2023

This walk started at the top of the cable car. We only had time to have a quick look at the Discovery Garden and Treehouse before heading back up the hill for the bus to Zealandia.

Walk: Wellington 25 & 27

Links

Kaka conflict: conservation icon to pest

Wellington Waterfront

Walk #108 13th November 2023

Having worked without having a holiday for ten months, we took three days off in the nation’s capital. The waterfront was our first walk, starting at Oriental Bay. It was windy afternoon, typical of Wellington.

Walk #109 Wellington By Night

We were going to continue this walk by doing a pub crawl back to our hotel. There was a smart bar and restaurant in Wellington’s oldest wharf building, Shed 5. But we decided not to go in after seeing the price of the beer.

People sitting at tables outside a restaurant near Shed 5 looked quite happy, while I was wondering how they could stand the cold wind. “They must be used to it,” we decided as we walked along with our shoulders hunched.

We carried on to the Thistle, Wellington’s oldest pub. It was established in 1840. My Grandmother’s great-grandparents arrived in 1839 (The Bengal Merchant) and 1840 (The Lord William Bentinck), just before the inn was established. I imagine they’d have been familiar with the place.

The wooden floor of the historic pub has a glass panel where you can see into the cellar.

The Thistle has a story that Te Rauparaha used to pull up in his canoe when the inn was on the foreshore and no-one dared charge him for his drinks.

We abandoned the walk after our meal as it had grown dark outside and we’d had enough of the cold wind, so we cheated and took a bus back to our hotel.

Walk: Wellington 23 and 24

Links

The Thistle Inn – good food, good service, nice wine.

History of Pukeahu

Pukeahu was a cone shaped hill which sits between two dominant ridgelines. The first, Te Ranga a Hiwi, extends from Point Jerningham (Orua-kai-kuru) up to Matairangi (Mount Victoria), then runs south to Haewai (Houghton Bay) and Uruhau, above Island Bay. The other ridgeline runs from Te Ahumairangi (Tinakori Hill) to Te Kopahou (Red Rocks) on the south coast.

Te Kāhui Maunga

The first tangata whenua of this area are said to have been Te Kāhui Maunga, who have also been called Kāhui Tipua and Maruiwi.

Ngāi Tara

Ngāi Tara was the first iwi to settle in this area. Possibly as early as the late 13th century, its Ngāti Hinewai hapū (subtribe) established the major pā (fortified village) of Te Akatarewa on the slopes of the hill Europeans named Mount Alfred, above where Wellington College and Wellington East Girls’ College are today …

Source: History of Pukeahu

Te Pa o Kapo, Titahi Bay

Walk #83, 3rd March 2022

We stopped here to eat breakfast on our way home from Wellington after witnessing the end of the protest at Parliament Grounds. We felt shattered.

Eating our food, we watched a couple of divers enter the sparkling water. A man and his dog played fetch with a driftwood stick and two yachts sailed slowly by. In the calm and tranquil peace of the morning we realised life would go on.

This is a stunning part of the lower North Island west coast. Mana Island could be seen in the distance and beyond that, misty and barely disernable, the mountains of the South Island.

History

The place name means the Pa of Kapo. The tribe was Ngati Ira. Te Pa o Kapo may have been occupied for as long as 400 years, but when Te Rauparaha invaded the area in 1819-20 the pa had already been abandoned.

Ethnographer Elsdon Best (who was born at Tawa) visited the pa and was impressed by the superb defences. He noted that at the time the stumps of the totara pallisading were still visible.

I suspect the rock at the site may have been a tuahu. Each canoe and tribe had one, a sacred place marked by a stone.

A plaque in front of the stone reads, “This is the site of a fortified pa occupied by Ngati Ira prior to 1820. The defensive bank and artificially narrowed causeway were once clearly visible. Archaeological evidence suggests there was an extensive settlement in this area.”

Walk: Wellinton 13

Kupe’s anchor

It is said that Kupe’s anchor used to lie on the Porirua foreshore. This is the narrative or korero from Te Ara about Kupe’s anchor: “The Polynesian explorer, Kupe, visited this area and named Porirua Harbour, Mana Island and his landing place, Komanga Point, situated south of Titahi Bay. The anchor stone from Kupe’s canoe, Mātāwhaorua, rested for many years on what is now Ngati Toa Domain. It is now at Te Papa.”

Be aware, this is a classic example of revisionist history about canoes and dates of discovery. Te Ara are wrong on two counts; they haven’t mentioned there were two explorers named Kupe and they failed to point out the stone is actually local greywacke.

Here’s the stone which is NOT from Kupe’s canoe. It used to lie on the beach at Porirua.

Links

Titahi Bay

Porirua City

Ngati Ira: Intermarried with Ngati Tara. In 1819 a war party comprising Taranaki, Atiawa, Ngati Toa, Ngapuhi and Ngati Whatua attacked the Wellington area, destroying the main Ngati Ira fortifications. Most Ngati Ira fled to the Wairarapa where they still live today.

WELLINGTON’S TE ARA O NGA TUPUNA HERITAGE TRAIL

KUPE’S VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND: Kupe and his people discovered people at various places. These people were the Mamoe, the Turehu, the Tahurangi, the Poke-pokewai, the Patupaiarehe, the Turepe and the Hamoamoa. “Such is the story as told me by my elder Tati Wharekawa.”

The Land of Tara and they who settled it, by Elsdon Best : The story of the occupation of Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara (the great harbour of Tara) or Port Nicholson by the Maori.