Walk or ride where trains once travelled

By Graeme Jupp, Fell Locomotive Museum, Featherston.

Click here to download a map of the Rimutaka Rail Trail.  (PDF 476Kb)

The Rimutaka Rail Trail has two entry points. At Kaitoke nine kilometres northeast of Upper Hutt on State Highway 2, a short drive along the railway formation leads to a car park. On the eastern side of the Rimutaka Range, the turnoff for Cross Creek is ten kilometres southwest of Featherston on the Western Lake Road. A two-kilometre track provides access to Cross Creek from the car park at the end of Cross Creek Road. Information and toilets are provided at each entry point.

The trail can be walked or cycled in either direction, though return travel is necessary if walking the one-way distance of 17 kilometres. Four to five hours is required to complete the trail at an easy walking pace. Mountain biking is especially popular on the more gently graded section between Kaitoke and Summit. Ascending the Incline from Cross Creek to Summit is comfortable walking and generally takes about one and a half hours, though care is required at the often windswept "Siberia" gully. Summit, although not halfway between Kaitoke and Cross Creek, is a popular lunch spot. The former settlement features interpretation panels, picnic tables, old locomotive parts and remains of a water tank, ash pit and turntable.

Interpretation panels at Cross Creek provide information about the operation of the Rimutaka Incline and lifestyle of the inhabitants of this once thriving settlement. Remains include the locomotive depot's floor and inspection pits, turntable pit, tennis court, and brick fireplaces of several houses. Cross Creek is also popular as a rest stop.

The trail's most prominent features are four tunnels and several bridges. There are several short bridges with original 1870s stonework, one of which has been partly restored and converted into a footbridge. A "Howe" truss bridge spans the Pakuratahi River and the bridge at Ladle Bend Creek features elaborate stonework. The Pakuratahi Tunnel is notable for being New Zealand's first concrete block structure and the trail also passes the ventilation shaft for the Rimutaka Tunnel. A stairway provides access to the largest culvert on the line near the Pakuratahi Tunnel.

A torch is recommended for the 576-metre Summit Tunnel. Two shorter tunnels on the Incline, Siberia and Price's, are curved and have sufficient natural light. Between Summit and Siberia tunnels is a viewing area providing a panorama of the lower section of the Incline.

The Fell Locomotive Museum sells a guide booklet for the rail trail, which includes historic photographs and a narrative for each direction.

The following websites provide additional information on the Rimutaka Rail Trail.

Department of Conservation
DOC administers the Incline section between Cross Creek and the Summit Tunnel in the Rimutaka Forest Park.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalk.aspx?id=43589

Greater Wellington Regional Council
Greater Wellington administers the section between Kaitoke and Summit through the Pakuratahi Valley as part of the Pakuratahi Forest.
www.gw.govt.nz/section627.cfm