Sunday, 1 September 2019
Location: Our understanding is that this is the most direct route to Mount Kaukau Summit. It starts at the Simla Crescent entrance in Khandallah, Wellington. You then take the first main trail on the left (the Northern Walkway track) up to the summit of Mt Kaukau.
We walked up and back along the same track and were really surprised how close the summit was. We thought we were off on another one of our big adventure walk but it took us less than an hour return. When we got back we swore next time we'd look up a map and figure out where the longer tracks were.
This is a great map (provided by Wellington City Council) of all the tracks around Wellington:
Age of our Kids: Miss 5yr Master 7yr
Buggy Friendly: No - lots of stairs and stiles
Walking Time: Around 1 hour return
Length: 3km
Difficulty: Easy - Moderate (easy because it's short but there are still lots of stairs for the little legs to climb)
Amenities: There are no toilets or water, there are picnic tables and benches at the summit
Elevation: 230m climb, 430m highest point
Dogs: Yes (on lead) Things to be aware of: It's really exposed at the summit so bring something warm so you can enjoy the view, the day we went it was really cold and windy at the top and Master 7 was in shorts so we didn't hang around for long.
Kids Rating (0-10)
Overall Fun Factor: 6/10
Legendary Factor (I've told all my friends about it): 5/10
Repeatability Factor (Can we please do it again): 5/10
Exhaustion Factor: 3/10