It was quite a cold day with a cool wind as we set out from Ben Burn Park part way down Campbell St. We made our way up the road to the Scout Hall where the track was located just to the side and started climbing a reasonably steep zigzag track in the bush. This track is also used for the Zealandia Perimeter walk. Almost at the top, we branched off to the right and continued on for another 5 minutes to reach the lookout at the Wrights Hill Fortress. It certainly does give some impressive views over Wellington.

After enjoying the views and having a snack we followed another track which led us to the old Parade Grounds, now used mainly by dog walkers. This joined onto a 4-wheel drive track which took us to the entrance of the fortress and onto the road. It was a short walk from here to the middle carpark where we joined up with the Salvation Track, also a cycle track, which meandered gently through the bush. We followed this 4.5km track all the way to its exit point near Hazelwood Ave. This links up with Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park. After a lunch break, we went in the opposite direction and came across some steps which led us down to Karori South Road. We walked down the road to the Karori Park Café for a coffee, before walking the back streets back to our cars.

Trip Leader: Judith O’Leary

Walkers: Natalie Albertyn, Sharon Dunstan, Anna Kay, Annemarie Wood, Lynda Mountfort, Veronica Hannah, and Brenda Franklin