Skyline Walkway is a hike along a gentle ridge west of central Wellington, North Island. I started on the South Ridge Track, which I took uphill through Khandallah Reserve. I joined Skyline Walkway near the top of Mt Kaukau, followed the ridge south to the vicinity of Otari-Wilton’s Bush, and then descended a track that led to Karori Cemetery. It was a short hike, which could be extended both to the north and to the south.

Time

From Simla Crescent to the main entrance of Karori Cemetery took me a little less than 3 hours. This includes breaks.

Route

I started my hike at the Khandallah Reserve trailhead on Simla Crescent in Khandallah. It’s close to Simla Crescent train station. From there it was an easy walk up South Ridge Track to Mt Kaukau, a hill with a wooden viewing platform and a telecom tower.

From there, I endured a very windy but enjoyable walk south along a good track. I believe that this was the only time in my life that I ever put a knit cap on solely to protect my windward (right) eardrum from the wind. Wellington is a notoriously windy city, and there is no higher terrain to shield the ridgeline from the westerly winds.

A lot of windmills were visible to the west. My walk took me under cables and past huge pylons that were most likely carrying wind-generated electricity to the city. People who like to imagine themselves exploring a primeval Papatūānuku might want to hike elsewhere.

There were a number of tracks descending east toward the city. I chose my descent route so as to walk through Karori Cemetery on the way. It was then a mostly pleasant walk through the Karori and Kelburn neighborhoods to my hostel in the city center.

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give this track a 1. Most people weren’t wearing hiking boots.

Other pages about this hike

• https://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/outdoors/walks-and-walkways/beyond-the-city/skyline-walkway

• https://planmywalk.nz/tracks/skyline-walkway

• https://jontynz.com/2021/10/13/skyline-walkway/

  • Jonty ranks it 2nd of 6 walkways in Wellington (https://jontynz.com/2023/07/24/wellington-walkways-ranked/)

• https://churnewzealand.com/skyline-walkway-wellington/

• https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/trip/the-skyline-walkway-wellington/

Pages about Wellington’s weather

• https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/NIWAsts65.pdf

• https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/travellers-guide-wellington-new-zealand

Wellington is the world’s windiest city, with an average wind speed of over 16 mph… The most settled weather occurs during summer and early autumn (December to March)… Winter (June to August) is usually the most unsettled time of year, with June and July being the wettest months, though it is generally quite wet all year round.

-Royal Meteorological Society