The scenery on one of our favourite Welly Walks, of the city spreading south from Wellington Harbour across the hillsides towards the open Cook Strait, would make a great promotional video of the capital. 

Of all the longer walkways, the Southern Walkway runs closest to the sea and stretches from Oriental Bay to the South Coast, exploring many of the city’s inner suburbs on the way.

If you’re in the CBD, start with a stroll along the water’s edge on Oriental Parade to the official starting point of the track at the entrance to the Town Belt at the bottom of Carlton Gore Road. This is where the Southern Walkway commences with a steep climb up the western side of Mount Victoria through Charles Plimmer Park. 

Almost at the top, forking off of Alexandra Road is an optional detour to the Mount Victoria lookout with some of the best views of the harbour and the CBD. You’ll re-join the Southern Walkway as the two tracks intersect again further south on Alexandra Road.

After crossing Crawford Road, the trail cuts through Truby King and Melrose parks and climbs steadily to the top of Mt Albert at 165m before meeting the southern coast at Houghton Bay. This slender sweep of surf-crashed sand hemmed in by a rocky shoreline is not suitable for swimming, but where the track ends at Shorland Park in Island Bay is a beautiful swimming spot. 

From the park, the Nr.1 bus runs back into the CBD. As does the 12-km City to Sea Walkway if you’re keen to explore another of Wellington’s fabulous walkways. 

If you still have the energy left for one more slog up a hill, there’s a track extension that zigzags up Brighton Street, Liffey Street, and Melbourne Road to Orchy Cres Lookout with sweeping views across Island Bay and the sea towards the South Island.

The track can be walked in either direction and is well sign-posted with orange markers.