Kaitoke (sometimes called Pakuratahi), part of

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt () is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. History Upper Hutt is in an area originally known as Orongo ...

City, is a locality in the southern

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It is located at the northern end of the

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zea ...

, 45 kilometres northeast of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

City and six kilometres from the northern end of the Upper Hutt urban area. It also lies at the southern end of the

Tararua Ranges The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand. The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...

. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "eat worms" for ''Kaitoke''. The first Youth Hostel in the North Island was established in the old Ministry of Works barracks at Kaitoke, which were behind the Post Office and alongside the Kaitoke Hall. The Post Office, the Hall, and the Youth Hostel were the only buildings of the settlement. The

Pākuratahi River The Pākuratahi River, previously the Pakuratahi River, is a river of the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows northwest from its source in the Remutaka Range east of Lower Hutt to join the Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River near ...

flows through the eastern Kaitoke Basin from its source in the

Remutaka Range The Remutaka Range (also spelt Rimutaka Range) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua Range, Tararua, then Ruahine Range, Ruahine Ranges, running para ...

s. The old route of the

Wairarapa Line The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand. The line runs for , connecting the capital city Wellington with the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line at Woodville, New Zealand, Woodville, ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, which closed with the opening of the

Rimutaka Tunnel The Remutaka Tunnel (spelled Rimutaka Tunnel before 2017) is a railway tunnel through New Zealand's Remutaka Range, between Maymorn, near Upper Hutt, and Featherston, on the Wairarapa Line. The tunnel, which was opened to traffic on 3 Novembe ...

in November 1955, ran from Upper Hutt via Maymorn to Kaitoke and around Goat Rock up the Pakuratahi to the Summit, and from there, because of excessive steepness, the

Fell mountain railway system The Fell system was a third-rail system for steep grade railway, railways that were too steep to be Rail adhesion, worked by adhesion on the running rails alone. It used a raised centre rail between the two running rails to provide extra traction a ...

was used to aid trains on the

Rimutaka Incline The Rimutaka Incline was a , gauge railway line on an average grade of 1-in-15 using the Fell system between Summit and Cross Creek stations on the Wairarapa side of the original Wairarapa Line in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand. The ...

between Summit and Cross Creek. This railway is now the

Remutaka Rail Trail The Remutaka Rail Trail (spelled ''Rimutaka Rail Trail'' prior to 2017) is a walking and cycling track in the North Island of New Zealand. It runs between Maymorn and Cross Creek, and follows of the original route of the Wairarapa Line over ...

. The Hutt River has its source to the north of Kaitoke, and much of the land in the vicinity is used as a water supply reserve. Filming, rafting, swimming and other human activity all take place downstream of the water intake.

Recreation

Kaitoke Regional Park Kaitoke Regional Park is regional park located at Kaitoke, northeast of Upper Hutt, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's southern North Island. It is administered by Wellington Regional Council, alongside the adjacent Hutt Water Collecti ...

has a range of facilities that attracts picnics, hiking, horse riding, swimming, camping and weddings. The park includes a filming location for exterior shots of

Rivendell Rivendell (') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elf (Middle-earth), Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of ...

for the movie '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. The "Puffer" tramping track providing access into the Tararua Forest Park climbs from Kaitoke onto and along the Marchant Ridge. Merchant Ridge is the part of the Tararuas that is prominently visible from Wellington. The Marchant Track has a side track leading to the Tauherenikau Valley. The end of the Marchant Ridge (after four hours of 'up hill, all the way, both ways') leads to Mount Alpha, and onto The Southern Crossing. The entire track to Alpha skirts the Hutt Water Collection Area. The Remutaka Rail Trail where people cycle and walk is accessed from Kaitoke. Other facilities included a small airstrip operated by the Upper Valley Gliding Club for the purposes of gliding the area's thermals. The Upper Valley Gliding Club closed in the mid 2020s. There is a mixed sport gun range called Kaitoke Range Complex that is used by the

Wellington Service Rifle Association The Wellington Service Rifle Association (or WSRA) is New Zealand's oldest active service rifle club. It is a member of the national New Zealand Service Rifle Association and holds shooting competitions for factory and service firearms. Comp ...

, the Historical Arms Association and the Green Mountain Boys Cowboy Action Shooting Club. There is a motorsport karting track since the 1970s run by KartSport Wellington.

Climate

References

{{coord, 41, 5, 0.5, S, 175, 10, 3, E, region:NZ, display=title Upper Hutt