Launch of East Harbour Regional Park

Greater Wellington Regional Council is running guided walks into East Harbour Regional Park on Saturday, 22 November, to mark the launch of a new ranger service.

East Harbour Regional Park includes the walks to Butterfly Creek, Pencarrow Head and tracks from Wainuiomata such as the Lees Grove Track.

“For the first time we’ll have a ranger service for the whole park. The new ranger, Gareth Cooper, will be a local point of contact for the park. Gareth has been a park ranger for six years and brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for his new role,” says Greater Wellington parks and forests manager Murray Waititi.

The new ranger service will mean better visitor security, a liaison person to work with existing environmental and recreational interest groups and local iwi and greater integration with the regional park network.

The launch of the ranging service will be held at Williams Park, Days Bay from 10.30am on Saturday, 22 November. Greater Wellington rangers, staff and volunteers will lead three public walks to explore several special features of the park.

The guided walks are: the Main Ridge Track from Wainuiomata Hill Road back to Williams Park; Pencarrow Head, a two-hour trip to Fitzroy Bay, the nationally significant freshwater Lake Kohangapiripiri and the historic Pencarrow lighthouse; and the Rata Forest Walk: a two-hour tramp to the stunning rata forest and Mainland Island Restoration Project. “This is a chance for Greater Wellington, together with several community groups actively engaged with the park, to share its many environmental and historical features with the public. It’s a wonderful place, right on the doorstep of Wellington and the Hutt Valley,” says Mr Waititi.

Two of the walks (the Main Ridge Track and Pencarrow Head) have bus transport provided. To reserve a space, contact Fiona King at Greater Wellington, fiona.king@gw.govt.nz, phone 802 0327.

© Scoop Media