11th October 2021
Location: Colonial knob car park, Raiha Street, Elsdon, Porirua (just below Camp Elsdon)
We really didn't pick the best day for this walk. For a start it was hustle and bustle Monday in Porirua and finding the car park amidst the industrial area took a bit of careful googling.
The climb up to the lookout is through a beautiful patch of native bush. It follows a creek up across several bridges and a significant number of stairs. Sorry young parents, this one is not buggy friendly.
The lookout at the top has a commanding view of Porirua, the harbour, Titahi Bay and beyond. On its own this 45 minute climb was worth the haul.
But wait, there's, more. Another little skip along the ridge is the radio towers with yet more views. To get there you leave the cover of the bush and walk along a farm track. The second reason this wasn't the best day for the walk, the wind up there was incredible! We had to hold Miss 6's hand along the way or, no joke, she would've blown away. We didn't bring warm hats as we weren't expecting this but luckily we all had hoods as this protected our ears (+ puffers + merino underlayers). We made it to the radio tower then on up to the peak for a couple of photo's before we made a hasty retreat down to the 7 Pines Track.
The walk down through the farm was spectacular. The track would have been just as steep as the other side going up, but the cruise down it offered views, a rolling grass field and lambs to admire.
7 Pines was a nice little track until we hit the mountain bike tracks. While there was little activity on a windy Monday, anyone whose been caught out on a mountain bike track knows there is little space to get out of the way if you get caught out. The AllTrails app saved us here. Making sure we were on the walking tracks, and lining them up so we didn't inadvertently land on a bike track was a lucky save as it wasn't always obvious. The learning for us was once you found Boundary Road, stick to it until you are out.
We've added our AllTrails App Map below. We did find it quite hard to figure out where to go with the maze of tracks up there.
Once down from the forest you end up on Broken Hill Road, from there it's a few hundred metres back to the car park.
Awesome walk!
Age of Kids: Miss 6 and Master 9
Walking Time: 3 hours walking and another hour of stopping :) (so around 4 hours)
Length: 10km loop
Difficulty: Moderate/difficult (because of the climb and exposure)
Elevation: 451m
Buggy Friendly: No - there were lots of stairs at the beginning and the end.
Amenities: There are lots of picnic tables and seats but we didn’t see anything else (including at the start of the track)
Dogs: No - you walk across farmland
Cellphone Reception: Yes
Kids Rating (0-10)
Overall Fun Factor: 6
Legendary Factor: 6
Would we do it again?: 8
Exhaustion Factor: 5
"It was fun until we got to the top, because it was incredibly windy. We almost flew off the track. There were amazing views at the top, and it was fun the whole way up and down."
Our AllTrails Snapshot
