We met at Woburn Station and set off on a clear, but chilly, morning for Te Whiti Park and the Te Whiti Riser track – with our ultimate destination being Days Bay. The conditions were ideal for a day walk.
The Te Whiti Riser track climbs at a gentle incline up to the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand 4WD Rd – which goes along the ridge-line of the Eastern Hills in Lower Hutt. The gentle incline was enough for us to warm up as we ascended. After just over an hour or so we reached the top of the track and then headed southwards. From the ridgeline we had superb views over Lower Hutt, the Western hills of Belmont Regional Park, Wellington Harbour and Wellington City. At times we could see Wainuiomata and we also saw Mt Matthews in the Remutaka Range.
We continued southwards and after crossing the bridge over the Wainuiomata Hill Road we entered some lovely beech forest. The track along the ridgeline along the eastern harbour has a steady rise up to Mt Lowry (373 metres). We stopped at Mt Lowry for lunch.
After lunch we kept going along the ridgeline. We only saw a few other people all day along the tracks we travelled. Before too long we were above Days Bay. The track continues in a southerly direction towards Butterfly Creek and Eastbourne, but we took the steep track down to Days Bay. Once there, we had time for a hot chocolate before catching the bus back home.
We had an easy day out, of just under six hours and enjoyed the fresh air, good views, good company and the exercise. All of this was achieved by staying close to home and using public transport.