Tracing the cliffs high above the Kāpiti Coast between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay, the Escarpment Track has grand views down the sheer rock walls to the rugged shoreline and across to Kāpiti Island.

The track is shared with New Zealand’s 3’000km Te Araroa long-distance trail and can be walked in either direction, though most start at the northern end, at Paekākāriki.

From the train station, the trail follows a footpath that runs parallel to SH1 and after a short while ducks under a small bridge and the highway. On the other side, the track soon climbs away from the road and the Kāpiti railway line to 220m above sea level.

As the trail journeys south across the clifftops and cuts through pockets of native coastal forest, it tackles a lot of steps, so many in fact to earn the nickname “Staircase to Heaven”.

At this elevation, the thin line of the rocky pathway clinging precariously to the exposed cliff face is frequently hit by fierce gusts of wind that surge in from all directions.

As you descend towards the Pukerua Bay end, the wind abates and two swing bridges spanning deep, overgrown creeks with some last sweeping views up and down the gorgeous coast are a lovely finish to this walk.

The only downside to this trail that I can think of is the traffic noise from the highway echoing off the rock face. The pounding surf and howling wind tend to drown out the hum of cars rushing by, yet my impression was still more that of an urban walk rather than one immersed in nature. 

And although there’s nothing technically difficult on this walk, on a windy day, people with a fear of heights may want to skip this track that is steep and narrow in places and ambles along almost vertical drops to the rocks, 200 metres below.

The Escarpment Track normally takes 2 to 4 hours to complete and including the return trip to the city makes for a fabulous full-day outing from Wellington. The track logistics are easily sorted, with regular train service running between Wellington and both ends of this 10km point-to-point trail, to Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay train stations.