Last weekend the weather was gorgeous in the Wellington region. As we headed to a long labour weekend, my friends and I decided to go for a popular and beautiful hike - The Escarpment Track also known as Stairway to Heaven, thanks to the hundreds of stairs involved.
Recently opened, this track is part of the Te Araroa Trail, which is a 3,000 km walking trail that runs from Cape Reinga at the top of NZ's North Island to Bluff at the bottom of NZ's South Island.
The track is located on the Kapiti Coast and is 10km long which takes around 4 hours to complete. I was expecting a tough hike because a friend of my partner said it was not an easy one. We was a bit worry as my right leg is weak after my ACL reconstruction. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad, however, preparation is needed.
My friends and I live in Wellington central so we decided to jump on the train to start our journey. As we started the track from Wellington train station, the total time for us to spend on this hike was 6 hours, 4 hours on the track and 2 hours commuting on the trains. Luckily, we did prepare plenty of water and snacks to eat along the way.
There is two options for us to do this track. Based on the recommendation online, it's easier to walk from Paekakariki to Pukerua Bay as we will go down the stairs more than up them. For my friends, they agreed that we chose the right direction to enjoy the track as we met some people hiking on the opposite way and they said it was tough at the start of their hike. However, going down the stairs was not an easy task for me, my righ knee is too weak and kept shaking when I went down. So probably next time, I will do the opposite direction.
From Paekakariki, when we got off the train, we took the path that goes alongside State Highway One for about 10 minutes. We followed an off-road track until we came to a bridge with some steps. Then we went under the highway and onto the start of the track.
The start of the track is leisurely, a steady incline but nothing too difficult. We pass through some coastal bush but mostly be exposed to the sun. Luckily, I got a hat and a scarf with me so it helped me to stay cool.
Then the steps began. The stairways zig-zag up the hill to its highest point, and from here the views are truly stunning. With the height gain, the expansive views of the ocean, sky and Kāpiti Island, blew my mind away.
Keep in mind that this walk isn’t suitable for those who are afraid of heights or who suffer from vertigo. Towards the top, my girlfriends struggled from peering down the steep cliff-face. I am not afraid of height, however, when looking down the railway line, road and rocks lie far below; and with the lack of guardrails, I could feel like I could easily fall off the side.
We continue to climb, we could see the stunning view of Pukerua Bay and Kapiti Island ahead of us. Once we reach the top there are some benches we took our break to enjoy the view and had some snacks to fuel our body.
On our way back down the track, we walked through some short sections of forest, a welcomed break on a sunny day. The two swing bridges over the valley are photogenic. I was enjoying so much the feeling of standing in the middle of the bridge, feeling it moving side to side while enjoying the gentle breeze from the sea. However, it was not the same for my girlfriends as they were afraid of height.
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Overall, what a wonderful way to spend a long weekend to get away from the city. In terms of fitness, it isn’t the hardest hike I’ve done (that goes to the Tongariro or Mt Taranaki). But I was so happy to discover this track almost in my doorsteps with beautiful wild flowers and captivating landscapes. This will be one of the frequent track for me to do with my friends in Spring and Summer.
P/S: All the photos in this post were taken by my partner - Gus and my girlfriend Anis.
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Ôi nhìn thích quá, đúng là nấc thang lên thiên đường nhìn là muốn đi á :) Không biết cảm giác khi đứng ở giữa cầu treo này sẽ ntn nhưng chắc cahwns rất thú vị kakaka
Uh nếu bà ko sợ độ cao thì cảm giác thích lắm, mặt bên trái của cầu treo là nhìn ra biển nên gió thổi từ biển về, tha hồ hít hà ko khí tưoi mát. Mấy bé đi cùng t sợ độ cao nên đi qua cầu này bọn nó phải đi từng bước một, ko kiểu chạy nhảy tung tăng như t
First photo click most beautiful to me. It's attracted my mind lot. This was amazing hike very nearest to the ocean. There are the foot path to climb to the mountain. Exactly beautiful travel experience in New Zealand.
Thank you for your nice comment. I really really like this track and am so happy to find this one in the same region I am living now.
Soooo many stunning spots in New Zealand!
I love hiking around the South Island - its a hikers paradise
Keep up the good work
Thank you for stopping by and read my post. Yes hiking in the south island is amazing, so many beautiful tracks and they looks like heaven to me.
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1366.
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Thank you so much Pauline for your support. Have a great weekend.
What an exciting journey! I also like trips like that. The view looks so beautiful, Dora
Thank you girl. I was so beautiful in Spring. I love to see wild flowers growing every where.
Like you said before, this path is not suitable for me because I'm afraid of heights haha but I can't deny it's a beautiful place, I loved the sky so blue, the sea, everything. I loved all your pics.
Thank you for your nice comment. I already told my girlfriends about it but they thought it should be ok for them. Until they saw the place, they couldn't move at all. Our team helped her by holding her hands to go steps by steps. Looking back it was a beautiful moment as we created a "traffic jam" with several people waiting to cross but they were all patient and encourage my friends.
So it would be a nice trip for me haha
great ride, beautiful pictures
thank you 😃
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