The Escarpment Track is a hiking track between
Pukerua Bay and
Paekākāriki
Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost Commuter town, suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of Wellington Central, Wellington, ...
in the
Wellington region
Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region ( Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of
...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
. It forms part of the
Te Araroa trail from
Cape Reinga
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, photo = Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand, October 2007.jpg
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, map = New Zealand
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...
to
Bluff. The track climbs to approximately above sea level, along a narrow route formed along a steep coastal escarpment. It overlooks a section of
State Highway 59 known as Centennial Highway, and the
North–South Junction section of the
Kapiti Line and the
North Island Main Trunk
The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...
railway line.
Track description
The track can be walked in either direction. It is mostly single track, narrow and steep in many places, with significant drop-offs. The surrounding terrain is mostly covered in low growing vegetation, but there are some sections of taller vegetation and remnants of
kohekohe forest.
The track includes approximately of formed staircases, with around 1,500 steps and two
suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical ...
s.
At the northern end of the trail near Paekākāriki, there is an old quarry that is now the site of a lizard habitat restoration project.
Planning and construction
Early work on a track along the escarpment was started by a local environmental group
Ngā Uruora - Kāpiti Project, as part of an ecological restoration initiative. They built an initial track from Paekākāriki to the site of Paripari, the old Maori village. At about this time, they became aware that the Te Araroa national trail project was seeking a route through the Tararuas to Wellington, and were considering valleys in the eastern Tararuas. The Ngā Uruora group proposed a route for the Te Araroa trail along the escarpment, and led several exploratory trips to demonstrate the potential.
Planning for the track included obtaining permission from
KiwiRail
KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise responsible for rail operations in New Zealand, and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest Rail t ...
and consents from landowners for the track to cross private land.
Work commenced in 2011 and by 2013, the first section of track was opened. Shortage of funds delayed the project until May 2015 when work got underway again. An official opening ceremony for the new track was held at
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
on 7 April 2016, and the track was opened to the public two days later.
The Government contributed $800,000 to the track, but the final cost was $1.4million.
History
There was a fatality on the track within three weeks of the track's opening in 2016. A man in his 60s collapsed at the top of a flight of steps.
CPR was performed for 30 minutes, but the man died at the scene. In another incident in 2020, a man aged 41 collapsed, and required CPR from a bystander until emergency services could get to the site. He was resuscitated successfully.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Escarpment Track
Video of trailWalking Access Commission - Escarpment trackPaekākāriki community website - Escarpment track
Hiking and tramping tracks in New Zealand
Kapiti Coast District
Porirua