Jordan and I have spent a lot of time exploring New Zealand, but we haven’t had much time to explore what is in our own backyard here in Wellington. The Makara Walkway has been on our list for some time and with the beautiful forecast in store for the Queen’s birthday long weekend it was the perfect time to finally go.
 |
| Windfarm along Makara Walkway |
A short 30min drive from Wellington, the drive to Makara was just beautiful. Winding through small towns and sheep fields, it was hard to believe the city was so close – yet felt so far away!
Starting along the beach we passed Fishermans Bay, where locals were casting their lines in hopes of catching some dinner, before heading up the hill towards higher ground. The short climb to the top gave spectacular views in all directions. The windfarm backdrop along the sheep fields in the distance was just breathtaking!
We continued to climb, gaining more altitude above the beach below. With the sheep field surrounding around us it was a bit of a ‘watch your step’ path – but not as bad as Elephant Rocks in Omarau 🙂
It was funny to see the sheep mixed amongst the windmills but they didn’t seem to mind!
As we neared the western end of Fisherman’s Bay, we came across a pair of gun emplacements at the top of the cliffs. This was the site of Fort Opau where 100 soldiers were stationed during World War II to protect the Cook Straight. Their birds eye view of the straight was a perfect place to spot an enemy invasion.
 |
| Fort Opau atop the Makara Walkway |
As we continued along the ridgeline we came across another large wind farm in the distance. Despite the controversy wind farms tend to bring, I still think they are beautiful – something about them is just memorising.
Finally making our way down towards the beach, we passed a number of skittish sheep along the way. Curious animals, like to stare at you, but step too close and they take off running faster than you expect!
We descended towards the water and made our way back towards the carpark along the smooth rocky beach.
As the afternoon worn on, the sun began to set towards the horizon providing the perfect ‘golden hour’ for our trip back. A beautiful relaxing way to spend a Saturday!
 |
| Sunset along Makara Walkway |
Wellington seems like such a great place to live, especially with hiking like this nearby! And hiking around sheep is so funny, they really have goofy personalities.
Hi Jenna!<br /><br />It's a pretty great little city. We love it here! We live right on the beach and are only a 15min drive to downtown and within 20mins you can feel like you're in the backcountry like at Makara! You'll have to check it out when you guys visit NZ :)<br /><br />Jenna
Was out at the wind farm just last weekend. Could not believe this place was so close to the capital city yet there was no sign of the city anywhere! The views are pretty amazing too. Wellington is full of surprises – even to those who have lived here a while.
Hi Antz – such a great spot out in Makara isn’t it! A little gem hidden just outside the city