Oruaiti

My job gives me great insight into the natural secrets of Wellington since we often survey in little known reserves. We did a week-long survey in Oruaiti Reserve at Breaker Bay, at the edge of the Mirimar peninsula, and I really wanted to go back to explore the whole hike.

There are so many cool features to this hike that it kept the girls' interest. Little to no whinging (kiwi for whining) on this tramp!

A mapping site Lucas introduced me to shows how far of a drive it is (bottom line) from our house to Oruaiti, from a Portland perspective. The rectangles are the same scale.



One of the first interesting features of the site are WWII gun batteries up at the top of the bluff. These concrete bunkers held gun emplacements to protect the entrance to the Wellington harbor. The guys manning the bunkers must have been quite bored waiting for someone to invade New Zealand by boat.

This being NZ, these secluded concrete structures were full of graffiti but not sketchy for visitors

Just a few metres further on is the site of the old Maori Pa, the defensive settlement of the original iwi (tribes). Maori and Pakeha (white people) alike found this hill above the harbor a strategic spot. 

A little further on, is Seatoun school where the girls could play on the multitude of playgrounds there. Not just one but two pirate ship climbing structures!

We then descended down to the beach where we walked back around the low tide zone in a big loop to where we started. The beach is inaccessible at anytime except low tide so few people take the beach way. So many tide pools along the way that we could explore. The girls loved finding starfish, crabs and paua in all the little pools. 

This pass between the cliffs is filled with water at high tide

The hike ends with an impressive rock arch