I wonder if I've spelled that right. As a warm-up for our Heaphy Track adventure, Marg, Simon and I walked the Escarpment Track, which is one section of the Te Araroa Trail System. We left the car at the Pukerua Bay train station and started walking the 10km, easy, well-maintained trail.
Easy soon turned into the steepest hill I've ever walked. Close to 1300 stairs, up and down (counted by my scientist friends) and two swinging bridges to a spectacular lookout over Kapiti Island. It was fun to view Kapiti from the mainland side. We sailed by the outer side of Kapiti this spring; the seas were much rougher.
When we weren't climbing stairs, we were walking narrow footpaths barely wide enough to let others pass, and a drop straight down to the railroad tracks and road way, way below. Although the trail is rated as an easy tramping track, they do warn that it is not for people with vertigo or heart conditions or children who might fall backwards.
The track finished 1km from the little town of Paekakariki. I told Marg and Simon that our tradition is to stop for a beer after a hike. They humored me by indulging in a Tuatara moo lah chocolate milk stout at Finn's Cafe before catching the train back to our car.
About 1/3 of the way up, a swinging bridge. The old rail tunnel is below and the road way below that.
The Lookout, the only part of the track more than 2' wide.
